I Will Protect You
by Brisingr364
Summary: Modern au, no powers. Charles escapes from an abusive relationship and runs to his sister's. When she can't get through his walls, she turns to her brother's ex, Erik. Things start to look up only to have the abusive boyfriend return and want Charles back, no matter what.
1. Chapter 1

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

Raven put the finishing touches on her makeup, grabbed her heels and purse and headed out to the living room. She was rather proud of herself for finally making plans to go out with her friends, a girls' night out with Angel, Moira and Emma. After the week she'd had, Raven needed a Friday night of alcohol and girl talk. She had just sat down on the couch to pull her shoes on when the doorbell to her apartment rang. She looked up, frowning. She wasn't expecting anyone, unless one of the girls decided they were going to go together instead of meet there.

Raven got up and padded over to the door in her bare feet, grateful that she had a carpeted apartment instead of tile or wood floor. It was autumn, after all. And at least whoever was on the other side of the door was patient. After the first ring, they were silent. Raven peered through the peephole and her mouth dropped open.

It was her brother.

She hurriedly unlocked the door, threw it open and hurled herself at her brother, squealing "_Charles!" _as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. She hadn't seen or heard from him in a few months and had had no idea he was in town.

He staggered back a step when she hit him and she noticed that it took him a couple seconds before he hugged her back. His arms slid around her, squeezing tightly, and he buried his face in her hair. That was so not a Charles hug. And he hadn't said anything. Raven let the hug go on for another minute before pulling back.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile, studying him surreptitiously.

Charles offered her a weak smile and said, "Can't a guy surprise his baby sister for no reason?"

She frowned. He was too pale, too thin, and looked super tired; there were dark circles under his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. It was a long flight and I didn't get much sleep."

_Uh huh._ Sure. 'Cause that didn't sound like a lie at all. She stepped back and pushed the door open. "Well, come on in. Where'd you fly from? California?"

"Maine, Raven. I came from Maine."

She looked back just as Charles brushed past her, duffle bag in hand. "I thought you lived in Michigan. That's all you brought? How long are you staying?" Raven closed the door and followed him down the hall.

"Ray, I just got here. Do we have to play 20 questions right now?" Charles asked, sounding slightly amused.

She huffed. "Fine," but she knew he could tell that she was teasing.

He turned to her then and his eyes widened as if he'd suddenly just realized she was dressed to go out. "Oh, no. You had plans. I'm so sorry, I should've called or something."

"No, it's fine. I'll just call Angel and cancel. They'll understand." She tried not to sound disappointed but, really, it was her brother. And something was bothering him.

Charles shook his head. "No, go. I'll be okay alone for a few hours. Don't let me ruin your night."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Raven. Go; have fun. I'll be here a few days."

She narrowed her eyes briefly then said, "Okay, then. Well, the guest bedroom is still in the same place—down the hall, last door on the left. Bathroom is in the same place, second last door on the left. My bedroom is-"

"—still in the same place," Charles interrupted with a small smile. "I get it; you haven't moved anything."

Raven stuck her tongue out at him but was secretly pleased. It may have been small, but it was the first genuine smile she'd seen on his face since she saw him through the peephole. "You're sure you don't mind? Because I can totally reschedule."

He reached out and pulled her close, kissing her cheek. "I'm sure, sis. Your cell number's the same, right?"

"Yeah. Yours too?"

Something flitted across Charles' face but was gone before she could identify it. "Yeah, but I've been meaning to change it. Some creep keeps calling me."

"Well, we can fix that tomorrow. Actually," she continued, hooking her arm through his and leading them into the living room, "we can get you a brand new phone. Bring you into the 21st century and all that."

"Ha ha, very funny," Charles said drily. He raised an eyebrow as he caught sight of her stilettos leaning against the couch. "Not planning on walking very much tonight, are we?"

She smacked his arm lightly, bending down to pick the shoes up and just catching the end of something on his face that might have been a wince as she straightened. Okay, now she desperately needed to go out and not just to get drunk. She needed to talk to them about what to do about Charles, who was obviously hiding something and Charles never hid things from her. "Okay, so, you can dump your stuff in the bedroom and feel free to go through the fridge, watch TV, whatever. Just stay out of my room."

"No promises."

"Charles!"

"It's required that brothers have to go through their sisters' things, keep up to date on their life."

"Oh, required, is it?" Raven raised her own eyebrow.

Charles smiled at her again, slightly better than the last but still with something extra that made it worry her. "It's in the handbook."

"Like the parents' guidebook you made me think Mom and Dad had when we were kids?"

"Exactly like that. Now go. I'll call you if I need you." Charles shooed her to the door and turned away.

Raven slid her shoes on, pulled her jacket over her shoulders, yanking hair out of it as it got caught, and turned to say goodbye to her brother who was halfway down the hall by now. "Night, Charles! If I don't see you when I get back, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night, sis. Have fun and be careful."

Raven shook her head as she left and locked the door. Even when he wasn't acting like himself, he still managed to worry about her. He was too selfless for his own good, sometimes.

* * *

Charles pushed open the door to the guestroom and set his duffle bag on the bed just as he heard the lock on the front door slide home. Positive Raven was gone, he dropped onto the bed next to his bag and let the mask drop. He'd known Raven would be happy to see him but he wasn't prepared for the questions. He hadn't had a chance to come up with something; too relieved to be away to properly come up with a story to tell people. He rubbed his right arm where she'd smacked him, wincing again as the pain flared. Charles pulled his jacket off, biting his lip as it pulled at injuries, and threw it on the edge of the bed.

He comforted himself with the knowledge that he hadn't really lied to her. With a sigh, Charles pulled a pencil out of his bag and, rolling his sleeve up, slid the pencil into the cast encasing his right wrist to ease the itch. Raven was going to have even more questions when she saw it, but that he could deal with tomorrow. For now, he was hungry and set off to wander through his sister's apartment. _Focus on the right now,_ he told himself. And right now, he was safe and staying with someone he knew loved him unconditionally.

* * *

Raven dropped onto the stool next to her friends at the table and smiled brightly. They had ordered for her and she took a swallow as she got settled.

"So, what took so long?" Angel asked, leaning forward so that her shirt dropped a little more. Raven caught guys looking at her from the next table over and shook her head. Angel was always like that when they went out.

"My brother showed up at my front door."

They all stared at her. Then Emma said, "Why the hell didn't you drag him along?"

It was Raven's turn to stare as she turned to the blonde. "1) It's girls' night; and 2) something's wrong."

"What do you mean by wrong?" Moira asked, leaning forward to put her elbows on the table.

Raven shrugged. "I'm not sure. Something's off, though. He's pale, looks exhausted, I'm pretty sure he winced when I lightly hit his arm and he keeps trying to act like he's perfectly fine but I know my big brother. He's hiding something and it worries me. I have no idea why he just randomly showed up and I don't know how to get past this façade of his."

Moira frowned. "Let me think about that and get back to you."

"Thanks." Moira was the one Raven went to for advice and she knew her friend wouldn't let her down now. "But until then, I need to get wasted. Who's with me?"

They cheered, clinked their glasses together and settled in to enjoy girls' night.

* * *

Charles jolted awake, some sixth sense alerting him to danger. He sat up, staring at the door directly across from the bed. Something thumped out in the hall and he jumped. Somebody was out there, coming closer. His breathing quickened as the mystery person drew close and he caught a whiff of alcohol through the cracks. Knowing what usually came next, Charles drew back, hiding under the covers and curling into a ball, instinctively protecting his head and stomach. The person drew closer, close enough that Charles could hear the heavy breathing and swearing.

He could swear his heart stopped as the sound of a door opening reached him. Then the door closed and he realized it was the door across the hall. Charles slowly sat up, praying he was alone in the room. That's when his eyes landed on the red and white duffle bag near the door and memory flooded back. He laughed a little, scrubbing a hand through his hair.

_Of course._ He was at Raven's and there was no possible way Jon could have known where Charles had run to. Not yet, anyway. But there was still that lingering feeling of unease, despite knowing where he was, so he got out of bed, grabbed the small three-shelf bookcase and managed to drag it in front of the door. Only then did he get back in bed, pulled the blankets up to his chin and tried to sleep.

* * *

**This is my first attempt at an X-Men fic so be nice. Thanks !**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

Pounding in her head finally dragged Raven fully awake. She rolled onto her back with a groan. "_Owww_…." _Note to self: no more drinking contests with Angel._ She vaguely remembered running to the bathroom to vomit at least once, possibly more. Aspirin was definitely a necessity this morning. God, was it morning?

She opened her eyes, feeling like they were literally being peeled open, and the light hit her from the window despite the curtains covering it. Sitting up, Raven was abruptly aware that she desperately needed the bathroom. That was the only reason she managed to move any further than the floor. Forgoing anything past that, Raven stumbled down the hall to the kitchen, where she apparently kept the aspirin. Why the hell it wasn't in the bathroom, she didn't know and didn't really care right then. All she needed was relief.

The scent of lemons hit her as she continued, reminding her of the tea her brother used to drink. She rounded the corner and came to an ungainly halt at the sight of Charles sitting at her kitchen table, reading the newspaper with a cup of tea in front of him. Oh. That's why she smelled her brother's favorite tea.

He looked up as she stopped and she was cognizant enough to recognize the flash of fear that flitted across his face. "Raven, I'm so sorry. I should have asked if it was okay for me to get the paper and to make tea." Then he seemed to realize she was hung over and apologized again, "I'm sorry; I didn't make you any tea. Are you all right?"

She just waved him off and headed for the sink. "Don't worry about it. I did give you permission to make yourself at home." God, her throat felt like it was coated with chalk and her voice didn't sound much better. She faintly heard Charles ask her if she was okay again but was too preoccupied with filling a cup with water and reaching for the pill bottle on the shelf above the sink to answer him.

Raven turned around, leaned against the sink, downed two aspirin with a swallow of water and then headed for the table. She collapsed into the chair across from Charles and dropped her head onto her arms. Blessed, blessed silence. Except the pounding in her head that was slowly fading.

_Ring ring_. Raven absently thought, _not my ringtone_, and went back to thinking of nothing when the table shook. Her head snapped up to see Charles reaching for his phone. _What the hell, Charles_ was on the tip of her lips but stopped when she saw that he was staring at his cell phone, a look of terror on his face.

She tilted her head, confused. Who could be calling him that caused that particular expression? Trying to think past the headache, she watched as Charles continued to stare at the phone, waiting until it finished ringing before setting it carefully to the side, as if it was going to bite him. He met her gaze briefly and that was enough to let her know she wasn't going to get any answers right then. _What is going on with you, big brother?_

With a sigh, Raven stood up. "I'm gonna go shower and then we'll go out and do some shopping." He raised an eyebrow and she added, "New phone and groceries." He nodded, relief clearly written on his face when she didn't ask about why he hadn't answered his phone or who called. Raven turned away, her head now pounding with more worry and confusion than pain. When did he get so silent? She talked a lot, yes, but so did Charles.

Raven spent the next thirty minutes standing under steaming hot water, thinking.

* * *

Walking the streets of New York was not Charles' idea of a good time. He was constantly being bumped or knocked into by something and the only anchor he had was Raven's arm hooked through his—thankfully not the broken one—as she dragged him to a deli for lunch. By the time she'd emerged from her rooms, ready to go, it was nearly eleven. Considering she got up around nine-thirty and he'd been up since eight, the lateness was rather surprising. The plans had been revised to lunch and then shopping, to his dismay. "Raven, love, are we nearly there?" Charles asked, his voice strained. If he'd wanted to deal with people, he would've found a hotel instead of staying with his sister.

She beamed at him and pointed up ahead. "Yup! Oh, you'll love it, Charles."

He wasn't too sure about that but had no choice as she pulled on his arm. They stepped inside, Charles jumping at the sound of the chimes as they entered. Raven waved at someone and he thought _She is entirely too cheerful for having been drinking just last night_ as they slid into a booth.

Forty-five minutes later, Charles and Raven were back out on the streets, headed for a mall to get him a new phone. He wasn't surprised when Raven took the lead, asking questions about things he'd never even considered when she brought up getting him a new phone. The only time he managed to interject something was when she pulled her wallet out.

"Raven, no, let me." There was no way he was letting her pay for this. Tracking him was fine; tracking her was another story indeed.

She looked at him like he was crazy. "Charles, it's fine. I can afford it."

He shook his head. "But you paid for lunch and this is for me. I'm paying for it."

Raven pouted. "But Charles—"

"No, Raven. Allow me, please."

With a sigh, Raven slid her wallet into her purse and stepped back, gesturing towards the register. "All yours."

"Thank you." He handed over a prepaid credit card, his palms sweaty. It was new, never before used. A coworker had bought the plane tickets, to help him get a few days' head start. Charles was unbelievably relieved to have the new smart phone residing in his jeans pocket. A new number meant that Jon couldn't find him, couldn't call him. He made a mental note to toss the old phone as soon as possible, and nowhere near Raven's place.

After that, of course, Raven dragged him to a grocery store, insisting that they needed to buy food for him since he was staying with her. Apparently, arguing with her still did as little good as it did before. At least some things remained the same.

* * *

Charles leaned against the handle of the cart, amused, and watched as Raven led the way through the aisles, slowly but surely filling the cart. How she planned to get the bags home was beyond him. He was probably going to pity the taxi driver. She told him to wait there a moment and hurried across to the ice cream section. He lowered his head until his forehead rested on his arms and closed his eyes, taking a couple deep breaths. His sister was wonderful for keeping certain thoughts away but he still couldn't bring himself to answer the questions he constantly saw dancing in her gaze when he caught her looking at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"Charles?" He looked up at the sound of his name. Raven stood in front of the cart, a vaguely familiar young man standing next to her. "Charles, you remember Hank, right?"

Hank. Charles blinked, thinking. Oh, right. Raven's boyfriend. He had a faint recollection of her calling him, elated that Hank had finally gathered the courage to ask her out. He managed a smile. "Of course. Hello, Hank. Wonderful to see you again."

Raven frowned at his less than enthusiastic greeting but Hank took it in stride, smiling back. "Good to see you again as well, Charles. It's been a while. How have you been?"

Charles shrugged, attempting at nonchalance. "Oh, you know. Same old, same old. And you?" he replied, turning it back on the younger man without actually answering the question.

"I'm good. Raven and I are very happy. You know, you should come out with us one night, catch up with your old friends. I'm sure they'd all love to see you again."

Charles' heart skipped a beat. No. If they saw him, they'd want to know why he hadn't kept in contact. And that would lead to questions he couldn't answer and… Vague avoidances were his best option right now. "Perhaps. I'm not sure how long I'll be in town, you see."

"But, Charles," Raven interrupted, "you told me you'd be here a while."

"Yes, Raven," he replied, voice tense, "but I don't have a definite answer as to how long that will be. We'll just have to see."

Hank looked between them as Charles glared at his sister. "That's all right," Hank finally said. "Raven's got our numbers so just let us know when you're available, Charles."

Charles nodded and Raven leveled her own glare at him before saying, "I'll see you Monday night, Hank. We're still on, right?"

Hank nodded. "Absolutely. Reservations are already set and I can pick you up around seven?"

"That'll be fine." She kissed him and he waved goodbye to Charles before heading down the aisle. As soon as he was gone, Raven turned on him. "What was that all about?"

He strove for innocence—something he had learned to excel at—as he asked, "What was what about?"

Oh, if looks could kill. "You know what I mean, Charles. You like Hank, if I recall correctly. And since when do you not want to see your friends? Azazel, Janos, and Emma, I can understand. You were never fond of them, but the others? Moira, Angel, Alex, Sean, Erik?"

Charles had raised his eyebrows at the tone of her voice but flinched with each name until the last. He hadn't heard that name in years, couldn't bring himself to even think it because of the whirlwind of emotions it dredged up. Needing to get away, needing fresh air, he snapped, "I'll wait outside," and was around the corner before Raven knew what was happening.

He desperately sought a door, seeking fresh air and space, stumbling through it when he did, and sagged against the nearest solid part of wall he could find. He covered his face with his hands, his breathing ragged. It had been such a bad idea to come here. That last name…Charles could remember so many fights over it, so much anger and pain whenever he brought up his friends. He'd eventually stopped mentioning friends because he was terrified of Jon's reaction when he did. _You need to stop thinking about this,_ he thought, forcing his breathing to slow.

Raven found him twenty minutes later, pushing a grocery cart full of bags. No mention was made of the conversation in the frozen foods section, nor was his flight from the store. They went back to her apartment in silence.

* * *

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! And don't worry. I have no intention of abandoning it. It's completely written, I'm just posting a chapter every few days :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

"Hope you're decent, Charles, because I'm coming in," Raven said even as she pushed the bathroom door open. "It's Monday and I have to finish getting ready for work." That was the only really bad thing about living in his sister's apartment: sharing the bathroom. And her lack of personal space or privacy. She was in the room before Charles realized he was clad only in jeans, a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. His cast was in plain sight, along with several other things she was bound to notice.

He quickly looked around for something to use as a shirt but she entered then and he gave up. Leaning over, Charles spit out some toothpaste, cleaned off the toothbrush and rinsed. He'd just straightened, resigned to the fact that he was going to be interrogated, when Raven slowly reached out and caught hold of the fingers of his right hand, drawing it close.

Her free hand flitted across the blue cast encasing his forearm and she said, in a rather strangled sounding voice, "What happened?"

"Um, well, you see, I was moving the furniture in my living room and tripped over something. I was lifting the couch and it caught my hand is it dropped and, well. My wrist broke." He couldn't help himself as the old lie slipped out. And as the last word left his lips, Charles was lost in the past.

_His back pressed up against a wall, arms lifted to cover his face. Jon standing in front of him, jealousy and anger fueling him as he swung. Charles flinched in the memory, crying out in pain as the baseball bat hit his wrist and the sound of bone snapping filled the air. He remembered Jon was all apologies and sympathy afterwards, even driving him to the emergency room._

"When?"

Raven's voice jerked him out of the past and he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry?"

"How long ago did it happen?" she repeated, eyes still on his arm.

"Um, almost a week and a half ago." He wasn't too sure, to be honest, having been hopped up on painkillers while the doctor was talking.

Raven let go of his hand then and reached out to brush against his chest. That was when he remembered all the bruises and scars that covered his body were clearly visible at that moment. He gasped as her fingers pressed against a recent bruise and tried not to take a step backwards. "How did you get this one?"

He forced a laugh, unsure of how light it sounded. "Oh, I was shelving some books in the library one day and one decided it didn't particularly want to go back on the shelf. Hit me in the chest rather hard as it came back down." Another memory flash: this time, Jon was drunk and in a throwing mood.

"Really, Charles?" Again, Raven's voice snapped him back to reality.

She looked a little skeptical and he hurriedly added, striving for lightness, "Oh, you know me, Ray. Clumsy as ever."

Raven frowned but her attention was caught by the myriad of injuries and sought answers to every single one of them. Before he knew it, Charles felt the old excuses slipping out of his mouth, one by one. Raven wouldn't judge him, he felt reasonably sure of that, but the desire to hide behind clumsiness was still too strong. The desire to hide any of what happened, to protect himself from the repercussions, was still there. He hated himself for it, for lying to his sister.

Eventually, after a couple minutes of silence in which Charles pointedly avoided meeting his sister's gaze, Raven glanced at the clock and exclaimed, "Oh my god, I'm going to be late! And I still haven't curled my hair or brushed my teeth." She shooed him out and he left before she could start in on him again. He couldn't believe she just switched topics that quickly but he took his escape as quickly as he could. He had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last of it.

Charles fled to the guest bedroom, where he leaned against the closed door. He hadn't wanted her to see this, any of this. And god, why couldn't he bring himself to tell her the truth? He could feel his eyes start to burn and he slid down the length of the door until he hit the carpet. He could remember every single instance that led to one of the injuries Raven had seen. Every single time Jon had gotten jealous or lost his temper or gotten drunk. And Charles had been too cowardly and weak to defend himself.

A tear slid down his cheek and he shoved the heels of his hands into his eyes, praying that Raven wouldn't decide to come see him. What was he going to do? He couldn't stay in here forever, but he couldn't tell her the truth. He couldn't tell her why he was really there because he couldn't bear to see the pity on her face. Oh, god, and his old friends. He'd completely forgotten that they could be here, that they would want to see him when Raven had brought them up a couple days ago.

Lost in thought, Charles faintly heard the front door slam shut, as he finally gave himself over to the tears that would only come when he was alone. The only time he could afford to let his feelings out, to let the mask drop completely.

* * *

Raven woke up, hearing someone talking. Still a little sleep-addled, she checked her alarm clock. No, wasn't that. Wasn't her phone, either. Frowning, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Who could be talking? Her door was locked and if she was being robbed, they wouldn't risk waking the homeowner. She got up, wondering if maybe the television was on. Charles seemed to have vampire hours sometimes. Or he used to. She wasn't sure about this new Charles.

The door opened onto darkness and silence. Raven was seriously starting to think it had all been a dream when she heard Charles mumbling through the door. Another frown and she tiptoed across the hall to slowly push the door open.

Sweat soaked the sheets, tangling even more around Charles as he tossed and turned in bed. She could hear him saying no and asking somebody to stop. Raven came fully into the room, intending to wake him from his nightmare. He didn't need any more injuries if he happened to fall out of the bed. She stopped next to the bed, insight hitting her. She'd fallen out of bed before, several times actually, but had never ended up with bruises like that. Or in those places…

Charles moaned, interrupting her train of thought, and she reached over to shake his shoulder. "Charles," she called out, shaking him.

He pulled away from her, mumbling, "No, 'm sorry. Please."

_What the hell are you dreaming about?_ "Charles." Raven tried again. "Charles, wake up! You're dreaming."

It was like some switch had flipped and Charles shot bolt upright, gasping for breath and absolutely soaked in sweat. He looked around frantically, as if still trapped in the nightmare.

Raven tentatively said, "Charles? Everything okay?"

He focused on her, swallowed. "Ray?"

"Yeah, it's me. You were having a nightmare."

Charles blinked a couple times, waking up fully. "I'm so sorry, I woke you up."

She shook her head. "I don't mind. Nobody should have to suffer through nightmares if they can be woken from them."

"Thanks," he said, still a little breathless.

"No problem. Sounded like a pretty bad one, you wanna talk about it?"

Running a hand through his hair, Charles told her, "It-it's nothing. Go back to sleep, I'll be fine."

She studied him. He was obviously not fine but she knew from experience that pushing him would only make him close up faster. With a sigh, Raven got to her feet. "Okay. See you in the morning, then."

She did look back when she reached the door. Charles had rolled over, pulling the covers up to his chin, and seemed to be fast asleep. The door made a faint clicking sound as she pulled it closed and went back to her own bed.

* * *

Alex Trebek's voice played in the background on_ Jeopardy! _as he read out a clue. Raven was amused to find that her brother still loved to watch it. "You would think by now that you knew all the answers, Charles," she teased, looking up from her book briefly. She'd missed yesterday's episode because of her date with Hank and today's contestants were rather stupid; at least, in her opinion.

He shot her a smile. "I haven't been able to watch it much lately. And no, I don't know all the answers. That's what makes it fun, Raven: learning new things."

"And that's why you became a librarian and I became an interior designer," she retorted. She grinned as Charles answered a question that none of the contestants knew and it went to a commercial break before Final Jeopardy. "Wait, I thought you and Jon used to watch _Jeopardy!_ together?"

Charles stiffened. Her gaze snapped over to him, concern spreading across her face and voice as she sat up, lowering her book. "Charles? You okay?"

"Fine." The word was short, sharp.

"Is Jon doing okay? I haven't heard you say anything about your boyfriend since you got here last Friday."

Charles wouldn't look at her, but he did reply. Just not in the way she expected. "Are you planning to go out with the girls again this Friday?"

She blinked several times. It was like her question hadn't even registered. "Charles, is something going on?"

He did finally look at her then. "I have to use the bathroom. Let me know what the final clue is, would you?" Charles left without a backward glance, leaving Raven staring after him, absolutely perplexed at what just happened. He never did come back.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

Charles had been at her place for a little over a week now and Raven was at her wit's end trying to get him to open up to her. He'd been having more nightmares; she could tell because he was so tired during the day, even though she couldn't hear them at night anymore. And then there were all the marks on his chest…and the cast. She still couldn't get a satisfactory explanation out of him for that. She'd moved furniture. Never had she broken a bone when a couch or dresser or something fell.

She was so worried about him and was coming to the realization that it had to be someone else to talk to him. Someone who wasn't related to him. But who?

* * *

Saturday night, having just finished a nice home cooked meal with her brother—unfortunately made by her brother due to her lack of cooking skills—Raven stood in front of the sink, washing the dishes, and going through names in her head trying to find someone who could get Charles to talk since obviously he wasn't going to talk to her. She'd spent most of the day thinking on and off about who could get past Charles' stubbornness. Obviously not her. Moira…maybe. Emma, Angel…no. Definitely not. Azazel and Janos were equally out of the picture. Hank…no. He wasn't really good with getting people to open up about stuff like that. Alex…maybe. Cop training would help, but... Sean…no, despite having the same training. Erik…wait. Erik! She stopped what she was doing and dried her hands. Duh, why didn't she think of him before? Erik and Charles used to be super close; of course Charles would talk to Erik. Where was her cell phone? Oh, there it was: sitting on the table next to the pickle jar.

It rang twice before a deep male voice answered. "Hello?"

"Erik? It's Raven."

"Hi, Raven. What's up?"

She bit her lip. "Um, well, I need your help."

She could hear him chuckle in the background. "What do I need to fix this time?"

"It's Charles."

Silence. Then his voice took a decidedly cooler tone. "Charles is in Michigan, Raven. He wants nothing to do with us."

"That's not true! Neither of those, actually." Raven hesitated but knew that her brother couldn't hear their conversation because he was currently sleeping on the couch in the other room. "I need you to come over and talk to him."

"I have several questions about that statement." Raven rolled her eyes as he continued, "but I think the most important ones would be why does Charles need "fixing" and why me?"

"Because. He won't _talk_ to me. He just showed up at my door last Friday night, won't tell me why and he's hiding something big from me. Please, Erik? I know you two used to be so close." Raven hated herself for begging but she somehow knew that Erik could help.

Erik sighed through the phone. "Raven, that was seven years ago."

"But I know you still feel the same way!"

"It's not that simple, Raven, and you know it. Besides, if he felt the same then he wouldn't have run off to Michigan with that guy."

She could hear the hurt in his voice and softened hers. "Erik, I think that guy has something to do with why Charles is here right now. Charles hasn't mentioned him at all since he got here almost a week ago. And the one time I did, he instantly shut down and changed the topic. Please, Erik. I don't know who else to ask."

Another sigh, heavier this time. "Fine. Give me half an hour to get over there. I'm not promising anything, though. If it works, great. If not, I'm not staying around to get hurt again."

"Deal." Raven was just glad he agreed.

* * *

Erik made his way from the elevator to Raven's apartment door, having let himself into the building with the extra key she'd given him for when he needed to help out with fix-it projects. For an interior designer, she was kind of a failure at home repairs and she hadn't updated any of her own furniture in months, possibly years. Even though he'd lost contact with Charles, Erik and Raven still maintained their close, almost sibling-like, relationship. She'd always been like a little sister to him, back when he and Charles first met in middle school.

He raised his hand to knock only to let it hover a couple inches from the wood. Why was he even here? He had every reason to say no, despite how close he and Raven were. He had no ties to Charles, anymore; no logical reason for him to be standing in front of this door, at 7:00 at night. Erik closed his eyes for a moment. No reason other than what they'd been through since seventh grade. No reason other than his feelings for Charles that hadn't faded at all in the past seven years; if anything, they'd grown stronger. _They do say absence makes the heart grow fonder_, he thought wryly. _All right, Lensherr, you can do this. Figure out what's going on and help out an old friend. You don't have to stay long. And besides, Raven might be blowing the whole thing entirely out of proportion._

Erik knocked. A minute later it was thrown open to reveal a young blonde woman who looked equal parts worried and relieved.

Raven breathed, "Oh, thank god, you're here. I honestly don't know what to do."

Erik slipped past her into the apartment. "Well, that's why I'm here, isn't it? So, where is he?" When Raven failed to answer right away, he turned around and repeated, "Raven, where's Charles?"

"He's in there," Raven replied, gesturing towards the living room. "He's sleeping, on the couch. He, um, he doesn't know I called you."

Erik sighed. "_Raven._"

"I know! I know, but he was so tired all day and I couldn't bring myself to wake him up." She looked sheepish and Erik walked over to pull her into a hug.

She folded into his embrace easily and he told her, "Don't worry. I'll do what I can."

A muffled "Thank you" reached him from his chest and he kissed the top of her head before letting go to head into the living room. One glimpse of Raven's living room had him smiling at her predictability. He shook his head; he hoped none of her clients ever got to see where she lived. The smile softened as Erik caught sight of Charles curled up on his side on the couch, fast asleep, and he took a moment to let the emotions tumble through him. Joy and happiness were there, just at being able to see Charles again. Love flooded through him, of course, because no matter what happened between them, Erik still loved Charles. Regret and pain flashed through, as well, staying briefly.

Then Charles rolled over and worry and concern took over. He was pale, sweating, and mumbling something that sounded like, "_No, please. Don't._" Erik's smile dropped instantly at the realization that Charles was having a nightmare and he was kneeling beside the couch in an instant, trying to wake his old friend.

Erik gave Charles' arm a shake. When nothing changed, he tried harder. Charles' sleeve slid up to reveal a bright blue cast on his wrist. Erik recoiled, staring at the cast in horror. He shot Raven a questioning glance and she bit her lip, eyes shining with repressed tears. She knew; she knew Charles was hurt and didn't tell him.

His eyes slowly returned to the cast, drifting across Charles' face—now crinkled as if in pain—and horror shot straight over to anger. Anger at the person who did this, who caused Charles such pain. _When I find out who did this, I am going to kill them. Slowly._ Erik tried again to wake Charles, this time shaking him harder and calling out his name.

Charles shot bolt upright, crying out something unintelligible and sending Erik rocking back onto his heels in surprise. Charles' chest was heaving as he gasped for breath, his eyes wide as he looked frantically around the room. They landed on the older man and Charles whispered, "_Erik?"_

There was a world of disbelief and hope entangled in that exhalation. It left Erik a little lost for words. Charles apparently thought he was still dreaming, which was a valid reason considering they hadn't said a word to each other since the fight. Erik had no idea what to say. He was left with the totally inadequate, "Hello, Charles."

Charles stared at him for a full minute, his breathing slowly going back to normal, before he moved to sit on the very edge of the couch. His eyes never left Erik's. Neither one said a word. Then Charles extended his left hand towards Erik, hesitant, clearly still doubting that he was actually there. Erik didn't hesitate.

He took hold of Charles' unsteady hand and abruptly found himself sitting on the floor with a trembling Charles in his arms, pressed against Erik's chest and seeking comfort like he hadn't done since they broke up. Erik wasn't really inclined to question it, but as he wrapped his arms around the younger man, he felt the need to know burst out of him.

"Charles, what happened to your wrist?"

The other man just shook his head and Erik stared at the wall, trying to figure out how to word it so that Charles would answer. In a softer voice, he murmured, "Charles…Raven is practically out of her mind with worry. What's been going on with you?"

Charles sniffed and Erik lowered his voice even further. "You know you can always talk to me about anything, Charles. That's never changed."

That seemed to have done the trick, thankfully.

Charles pulled back, wiping at his face with his sleeve and refusing to meet Erik's eyes. In a shaky voice, he mumbled, "Jon…he…" Charles' voice cracked. "He broke my wrist. With a baseball bat," and buried his face again.

Erik held him tight, lowering his own head so that it rested atop Charles' and closing his eyes for a moment. _I'm going to kill him_, was Erik's instinctive reaction. He fought to gather his emotions, to find something that he could latch onto that would allow him to talk without scaring the man in his arms. "Oh Charles," he finally breathed. Charles' breath hitched.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Raven's voice made both the men look up. Erik had forgotten she was there, and clearly Charles hadn't noticed she was there, either. She sounded hurt and shocked.

Charles bit his lower lip. "I didn't want anyone to know. I…I didn't know what he would do if—" and his voice broke again. Erik finished the sentence in his head—_if Jon had known Charles told someone._ Oh, Jon was going to pay for this. As Charles shifted so that he was sitting more or less in Erik's lap—albeit on the carpet—Erik wondered _how did I end up being the one he'll talk to? I haven't seen or talked to him in years._

Raven sat on the couch and Erik looked at her; their eyes met and they came to a silent agreement. It didn't matter what their history was. The truth had to come out. Charles would feel better about it, eventually. So Erik said softly, "Charles. Tell us what happened. Why did Jon hit you? I thought you two were happy together."

Charles looked down, uninjured hand still fisted in Erik's jacket, and said, "We haven't been, not for a while. I…I'm not really sure how it started. It's—it's all a bit hazy." They just waited and, after a minute, he sighed. "I think we were at a restaurant. I remember one of the waiters was nice to me, maybe flirting, I don't know, and Jon—he didn't like that. He got jealous. I used to think it sweet. Now…" His voice trailed off and he didn't speak for a few seconds. When he did, his voice shook. "I remember him slamming the door, shouting…something. Something about me leading the guy on to make him jealous. Before I knew it, he had a bat in his hands and I was backing into a wall. He swung high—maybe at my head? I tried to block it; my wrist bent the wrong way and I heard something crack. He dropped the bat, drove me to the emergency room, acting the concerned boyfriend the whole time." Charles dropped his head onto Erik's chest, as if it was too much effort to hold it up anymore.

Erik stared at Raven, both of them equally stunned.

Raven said, "Why didn't you call me then? I'd have come and gotten you."

"He would have hurt you."

"Charles—"

Charles looked at her. "Ray, he was going to hurt you. He told me."

Erik swore, inadvertently making Charles flinch. "Sorry," he quickly said. "How long ago was this?"

"Two weeks? A week and a half?" Charles shook his head. "I'm sorry; I don't remember the visit all that much. All I could think about was the pain and wondering why his anger disappeared so quickly."

"And the others, Charles?" Raven asked meaningfully.

"Others?" Erik repeated and Raven nodded.

"His chest is covered with scars and bruises."

_Oh god._ "Charles?" _Please tell me it's not true._

The younger man fought back a sob, a hand coming up to cover his mouth. Erik suddenly decided that if they were going to get seven years' worth of history, then he was damn well going to try to make them as comfortable as possible. He slid one arm under Charles' knees, wrapped the other around his shoulders—ignoring the faint squeak of protest—and stood up.

He sat down on the couch, Charles still in his arms. Once he was settled, he pulled both arms free and pulled the now crying man close, rubbing his back comfortingly. "It's okay, Charles. You're safe here. Jon can't touch you. Take your time; tell us what happened."

It still took a good ten minutes for Charles to pull himself together enough to explain. Erik ended up staying at Raven's much longer than he'd originally thought. Charles did finally tell them everything, from the first time Jon hit him—over something Charles had said about when he was with Erik—all the way through seven years' worth of abuse. Charles' voice shook, breaking every now and then, and he stopped often as he got overwhelmed. Through it all, he never let go of Erik; not once.

Raven asked one of the few questions remaining. "What made you decide to leave?"

Charles took a shaky breath. "I was cleaning…found some papers. He was looking for you, Ray. Trying to find you. I—I tried to get rid of them. I could take the abuse, but I couldn't let him hurt you. You're my baby sister."

"Oh, Charles," Raven sighed, her own eyes red with tears from the revelations. Even Erik's throat was tight with emotion.

"Anyway, he…he found out somehow and…well, he wasn't happy with me. I got lucky, I suppose. Only a few bruises. A coworker—she knew, or suspected, and helped me get out. She helped me pack, bought the plane tickets. Sent me to Maine then here, hoping to give me some time. I—I'm so sorry, Raven. I wanted to tell you the truth but the excuses came out instead and I just…I see it often enough in my dreams; I couldn't..." Charles' voice broke and he turned into Erik's chest, renewed tears pouring down his cheeks.

His whole body shook as Erik rubbed his back, repeating in a soft voice, "Shh, it's all right. You're safe, Charles. Shh, it's okay."

It took some time, but Charles' tears eventually slowed and then stopped. Erik continued to rub his back, hoping it comforted him somewhat. Raven got up and left the room, only to come back after a minute with a steaming mug of tea. Erik could smell the lemon as she sat back down. With a gentle nudge, he convinced the younger man to look up. A little more convincing was needed to get him to let go of Erik's shirt and take the mug.

Charles' hands shook slightly as he wrapped them around the mug, releasing Erik for the first time since he'd arrived. He slowly sipped the tea, the trembling easing as he calmed.

Raven ventured, "Do you feel any better?"

Charles looked up, met both of their gazes briefly, and nodded. His voice sounded faint—and surprised—as he replied, "I do, actually. It's…it's like a weight has been lifted."

Erik let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He hated having to make Charles go through it again but it was worth it to know that he felt better. It was worth it to know so he could protect Charles from this son of a bitch. "Good," he said. Charles leaned against him, yawning. He seemed…drained.

"I'm sorry, Charles," Raven said. "I know it had to have been painful but we needed to know. We can't help if we don't know what's going on." She sounded desperate to make her brother understand their motivations.

Charles gave her a tired smile. "I know, love. And I understand. You've both been so patient with me, I don't quite know what to say."

Erik snorted, amused. "Say thank you, Charles."

"Erik!"

"Oh, relax, Raven. He knows what I mean."

Raven opened her mouth, but Charles interrupted. "I do. And thank you, Erik, for coming. For being here. I'm sorry if it brought you any trouble."

"No trouble, Charles." _Except maybe to my heart._ Erik smiled down at him. "And although I believe you're comfortable where you are—as am I, don't get me wrong—if you're going to fall asleep, I would much prefer you do it in your bed."

Charles' cheeks turned red even as he bit back another yawn and handed Raven his now empty mug. "I'm sorry."

Erik chuckled as he looked over at Raven, his eyes catching a glimpse of the clock on the wall. His gaze shot right back to it. Holy shit, was that the time? He'd been here over three hours; it was just after ten o'clock.

"Erik?" Raven. She must have noticed his attention had shifted.

"I'm fine; I just hadn't realized what time it was. I should probably be getting home."

Charles instantly latched back onto Erik's jacket, his face pale. Erik and Raven both looked at him in surprise.

Raven asked, "Charles, what is it?"

Charles ignored her, fixing his gaze on Erik, who was rather unsettled to see the naked fear in the other man's eyes. "Charles, what's wrong?" Erik asked, concerned.

"Don't go," Charles pleaded. "Please?"

"Charles, I don't—" Erik started but Raven interrupted.

"Do you work tomorrow?"

He looked at her, startled. "What?"

She repeated, "Do you have to work tomorrow?"

Erik said, a little dazed, "N—no. It's Sunday…I'm on call, though, in case there's an emergency and they need me." What was he doing? He felt his eyes drawn back to Charles', getting captured in the blueness of them.

"Great. It's settled, then," Raven said cheerfully.

"Wait, what's settled?" Erik asked, looking over at her.

"You'll stay the night."

"Raven—"

"Erik, please." Raven's voice softened. "For Charles?"

And again Erik found himself drawn to the other man, who had been strangely silent since his first plea, letting his sister do the talking. "Why? Why me?" he finally asked. _Why now, after everything?_

Raven remained silent, clearly understanding Erik was asking Charles. Charles bit his lower lip. "I…I could never bring myself to tell anyone. I—I couldn't even tell Raven, but with you…I…I don't know. I just…feel…safe. With you. Please stay?"

Well, how could you say no to that and not feel horrible? Erik sighed, giving in. "All right. I'll stay. But just tonight."

Raven beamed at him and Charles loosened his grip, dropping his head onto Erik's chest as he yawned again. Striving for lightness, Erik said, "All right, that's it. I am not going to be a pillow, nor am I sleeping on the couch. Come on, Charles; time for bed."

Raven laughed, Charles flushed and Erik blew out his breath in a huff. "Not like that!" Raven only laughed again. He scowled at her. "You're lucky Charles is falling asleep right now or I'd throw something at you," which, of course, only served to make her laugh harder. He looked at his old friend. Charles' eyes were drifting closed.

With a sigh, Erik managed to get to his feet without letting go of Charles and set off down the hall. He knew where to go: down the hall, to the last door on the left. Erik kicked the door open and deposited Charles on the bed. He pulled the covers down and helped his friend under them. Then he went over and closed the door, threw his jacket over the back of the desk chair, and shut off the light before sitting down on the empty side of the bed. He emptied his pockets onto the nightstand then slid under the covers.

Glancing to his left, Erik saw that Charles was already fast asleep. His face was paler than normal, but he looked peaceful. _I really hope I don't regret this_, was Erik's last thought before his eyes slid shut and he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Wow, this ended up being really long. But I didn't want to break it up so...be easy on me, I'm still learning/growing as a writer.**


	5. Chapter 5

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

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**Tons of fantastic reviews, love that you guys are so enthusiastic about this story. But, seriously, shout out to ToughGirlsRuleTheWorld for being so into it and offering up wonderful critiques with advice for future stories, as well as having a fun conversation. Love you :D and thanks. **

**This chapter is shorter, back to the more normal length, but you're also getting it a day early. I can't post it tomorrow like I'd planned because I will be in Chicago for the weekend, attending Creation's Stargate Convention in Chicago. Gonna be great, and I can't wait :)**

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The sun on his face finally woke Charles and he stretched, feeling stiff. Or, at least, he tried to stretch. He couldn't move. Confusion and panic set in and his eyes shot open. He was in Raven's guest bedroom, which, admittedly, was more often than not used almost exclusively by him, but still. Charles was on his right side, something warm pressed against his back, with something heavy draped around his waist. Maybe it was Raven, unable to leave him after one of his nightmares. Charles turned his head a little to the left, trying to see who it was, and caught a glimpse of a rather muscular chest and took a sharp breath. It wasn't Raven.

The other person—and Charles earnestly hoped that it wasn't Jon—shifted, waking. As the other person moved their head, Charles realized it was Erik and he panicked. _Oh god, why is Erik here, in my bed? Did we…? No, no we couldn't have. I still have my jeans and sweater on. Wait. Why am I still in yesterday's clothes? What is going on?_

Charles felt Erik take a deep breath and rolled onto his back as Erik did only to see Erik reach up and rub his eyes with his free hand. _Come on, Charles; remember!_ He had intermittent flashes of the two of them on the couch. Erik rolled his head to the side, smiling when he saw Charles looking at him.

Voice rough from sleep, Erik said, "Morning, Charles. You sleep okay?"

Hesitant, still unsure how he had ended up in this situation, he replied, "Yes."

Erik took another breath, blinked a couple times. "No nightmares?"

Charles blinked. "No, actually." The realization that he had slept through the night, without waking up due to nightmares, sent the memories rushing back. Seeing Erik for the first time in seven years, the rush of emotions, falling to pieces in front of him, telling him and Raven everything, begging Erik to stay, falling asleep in Erik's arms. Charles cringed as embarrassment shot through him. "Oh god. Oh god, I can't believe I did that." He threw an arm across his eyes. "Oh, god."

"Did what? There were several parts of our conversation last night that could fall into that category." Charles could hear the smile in Erik's voice.

He cringed again, lowering his arm and looking down as he fought back tears. He was so embarrassed and ashamed right now. Erik somehow recognized what was happening and sat up, pulling him up and into his arms. His hand rubbed Charles' back in small circles. "Hey, it's okay."

Charles scrubbed at his eyes, swallowing hard. "I can't believe I told you all that. I've never told anyone. And you don't think I'm weak or a coward." His voice was filled with wonder.

"Why would I think that?" Now Erik's voice was full of wonder. "You survived, Charles. You got away from him and you made it here."

"But…" he sniffled.

""But" nothing, Charles. There is nothing weak or cowardly about you; don't you ever think that," Erik firmly told him.

They stayed that way until a knock sounded on the bedroom door. They looked over as Raven's head peeked around the door.

Erik said, "Good morning, Raven."

"Morning, Erik, Charles." She came fully into the room, still in her pajamas. "How did you sleep?"

Charles smiled inwardly at Raven's clear attempt not to say anything about how they were sitting. "Better than I've slept in years. No nightmares; not a one."

She grinned. "Guess you are good for something, huh, Erik?"

Erik raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure you want to be going there right now, Raven. I can quite easily refuse to help you the next time your toilet overflows."

"I can just get Charles to do it."

Charles laughed a little. "Raven, darling, you know I'm not good with household repairs."

She frowned. "Fine. So, Erik, staying for breakfast?"

Erik turned to Charles, a question in his eyes. "Up to you, Charles."

He blinked. Everything was moving so fast. He was still coming to terms with everything he'd revealed to these two last night. But…if he was being truly honest with himself, Charles had wanted to come back to Erik years ago but was both afraid to leave Jon and afraid that Erik had moved on and wouldn't want him. When the whirlwind of thoughts died down to a manageable level, Charles finally asked, "Stay?" He knew his voice shook; knew it was unsure. And he was. Charles didn't know if he was pushing it, didn't know if Erik even wanted to spend time with him.

His thoughts would have spiraled but Erik saved him from that by saying, "I suppose we'd better get to the kitchen, then. I'm assuming it's too much to hope that Raven has managed to learn to cook rather than making you do it all?"

The siblings turned red and Raven said indignantly, "Hey! I can cook!"

"Without burning anything?" Erik asked pointedly, one eyebrow raised.

She glared at him and Erik shook his head, laughing. "Give me a couple minutes, then I'll go raid your cupboards and see what I can find to make."

"Thanks, Erik," Raven said, her cheeks pink, and left them alone.

Erik spent a couple more minutes making sure Charles was all right before they finally left the room. By the time they reached the kitchen, Raven had already made tea and coffee for the three of them. He could smell it, the odd but familiar mix of sweet and bitter, and a sense of nostalgia hit him. Charles accepted the mug of tea his sister handed him with a grateful smile and moved to sit at the table.

A teasing note to his voice, Erik said, "I see you still prefer tea over coffee."

Charles replied in a like tone, "I will never understand how you can swallow that bitter liquid." He enjoyed the renewal of their never-ending debate over tea versus coffee. When Erik turned around, Charles shot him a grin over the edge of the mug.

Erik returned it, replying, "And I will never understand how you can like a drink made of water and a bag." Charles just sipped his tea and Erik started to go through the cupboards.

Raven handed him the newspaper and he tried to focus on that rather than watching Erik gather ingredients and cooking. It wasn't long before the three of them were eating homemade pancakes and scrambled eggs.

"Charles, you really need to eat more."

He sighed. "Raven, I eat plenty."

"No, you don't. Or I wouldn't have said anything."

Charles looked to Erik for help but his friend had a hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking in silent laughter. He hid a smile and told Erik, "Well, you're no help."

"I'm sorry, Charles, but you should know by now how to deal with your bossy sister," Erik replied.

As Raven pretended to take offense to Erik's statement, Charles zoned out a little, a faint smile on his lips as he watched his sister and former love turned friend enter into a rather spirited discussion. It was like old times, he thought. Back before everything in his life shattered. Easy mornings with breakfasts cooked by Erik. Nights of Charles cooking dinner, knowing Erik would be too tired from work to cook. Erik surprising him every now and then with dinner out or making dinner before Charles got home.

Erik and Raven continued to talk and Charles got more and more lost in the past. So familiar, that mix of smells: tea and coffee. Of the arguments that always happened whenever Raven and Erik were together for longer than a few minutes. He lowered his fork and reached for his tea. His brain brought up a more recent memory. Of him and Erik lying in bed together only a couple hours ago. He remembered those lazy mornings spent curled up together in bed, or on the couch…

Tears pricked his eyes and he blinked them away, swallowing past a now tight throat. Images of waking up in Erik's arms, spending the night with him…Charles suddenly set down his mug and left the room, ignoring Raven's voice as it echoed after him, calling his name.

He needed to get out of there, away from the subject of his thoughts, before he broke down in front of Erik again. Charles made it to the bathroom, shutting the door and sagging against it. He wrapped his arms around his legs, burying his face as the tears finally slipped out. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to see Erik when he came here, why he didn't want to see any of his old friends. It was hard enough coming to his sister.

A knock on the door startled him. "Charles?" Speak of the devil. "Everything okay?"

Charles swallowed, said thickly, "Fine."

"Are you sure? You ran out awful quick." She was worried. With resignation, Charles thought, _she had every right to be._

His voice strained, he replied, "I'm fine, Raven. I'll be back in a minute."

He heard her leave and let out a sob as he curled in on himself. Why? Why was this happening now? Why couldn't he just…god, he didn't even know what he would've done instead. He just knew it had to be better than facing his past like this. He hadn't had time last night to run through all the emotions just seeing Erik brought up. Maybe that was why he was currently hiding out in the bathroom.

Charles lifted his head, dropped it back against the door. Tears flowed steadily down his cheeks as he tried to work things out. If he was being truly honest with himself, Charles had wanted to come back years ago. Had wanted to come back to Erik. He missed what they had so much. He probably would have if it weren't for his fear of Jon. That, and wondering if Erik would even want him back, after all this time.

He let out a short, bitter laugh. The only thing left would be for Erik to play the I-told-you-so card. Because he had, and Charles hadn't wanted to listen, had thought Erik was just jealous. God, he should've known better. And then there was last night, and this morning…Charles felt like he needed Erik by his side, that that was the only thing keeping him together, frayed and broken as he was. But he was afraid to ask for too much, afraid of what it would do to his heart, to their rekindled yet fragile friendship.

_I don't want him to leave_, he thought,_ but I don't want to ruin us again._

After a while, Charles emerged from the bathroom and returned to the kitchen. Erik and Raven both glanced at him in concern, Erik's eyes lingering a bit longer on him, and Charles said softly, "I'm sorry; I just…needed a moment alone."

Erik frowned, clearly sensing the lie. Their eyes met and Charles silently begged him not to ask. He said instead, "Raven wanted to know if you would be interested in seeing the sights, since it's been a while."

Charles sank down into his seat, grateful that Erik didn't call him on his lie. "Sightseeing?" he mused. "I suppose it has been some time. Maybe a few hours?"

"Great," Raven said. "I suppose we should drop Erik off to change before we go?"

Charles shot a surprised look at the older man. "You've been called in?"

Erik shook his head. "No. But I don't particularly feel like wearing the same clothes two days in a row."

It was Charles' turn to frown. Something had clearly changed while he'd been gone. Erik and Raven had conspired against him, he was sure of it. But a day with Erik, and Raven, in the city…Charles would do anything right now to keep Erik close.


	6. Chapter 6

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

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**Back from the convention. It was fabulous in that I got to meet Michael Shanks and Jason Momoa this time around. Eventually, I'll get face to face moments with all of them. Wish I could've met the rest, though, of those that came. Anyway, so sorry about the lateness of the chapter but I didn't get home til Monday night at 1 am, so Tuesday was spent sleeping and playing catchup with email and stuff. **

**So here's the next chapter. Hope you're still with me and still like it.**

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"This really isn't the best time, Alex," Erik said as he switched his phone to his other ear and shoved the door to the break room open.

"Oh, come on, Erik! We never see you anymore; you're always holed up in your apartment, moping, or working." Alex retorted and Erik sighed.

"I'm sorry, but I've been busy."

"Moping does not equal busy, Erik," Alex said. "Besides, when was the last time you went out with someone more than twice?"

Erik dumped his things on a bench and leaned against his locker. "I dated Lucas for a while."

"Okay, I'll give you that one. But he was a douche." Erik chuckled and Alex continued, "Come on, one night. That's all I'm asking!"

"I've got plans."

"Do not. Everyone's coming." Alex amended, "Well, all but Azazel and Janos. They didn't want to come. But everyone else is. What plans? And if you tell me it's some TV show, I will come over to the hospital and smack you."

Erik laughed, shaking his head. "You won't leave the station. And, yes, I do actually have plans, with people other than you. I'm hanging out with Raven and Charles."

It wasn't until the other end of the phone went silent that Erik went back through what he'd said and silently swore. _Shit!_ He hadn't meant to tell anyone that.

Alex slowly said, "Did I hear that right? Did you just say that Charles is back in town?"

Erik winced. "Yes," he reluctantly admitted. "He's staying at Raven's."

"And you're back in contact with him." He still sounded slightly dumbstruck.

Another wince. "Yes."

"When? How? When the hell did he get here? Are you two back together? Why didn't Raven tell us? How long has he been here?" The questions seemed to just pour out of the other man, as if a dam broke.

"Uh, that's not really my place to tell, I don't think," Erik evaded.

Alex sighed. "Just hit the highlights, then."

After a brief internal debate, Erik gave Alex a condensed version of what Charles had told him, telling him a quick explanation of Charles and Jon's rather rocky relationship, how fragile Charles was, and how he and Raven were working to help him get past things and move on with his life. When he was done, Alex fell silent. Erik glanced at the clock and started to change into his scrubs, switching his phone to speaker and setting it on the bench.

Alex finally said, "Maybe you should bring him along."

"Not this again. Alex, what in what I just told you makes you think he would want to come?" Erik demanded, aggravated now.

"It might do him some good to see his old friends. Obviously he's okay with you. And besides, it might take his mind off of things."

Erik stopped midway through pulling his shirt on. That was actually a good idea. At least, the taking Charles' mind off of things part. He still pulled away from them a lot, less so with Erik, but still... Erik yanked the shirt over his head and frowned, thinking. Getting Charles out of the apartment would be hard, yes, but it might be worth it in the end. As long as Erik and Raven stayed close to him, it shouldn't really be a problem. Decision made, he picked up the phone and switched off the speaker. "All right, Alex. We'll do this. But our conversation? It stays between us. No one else knows until Charles wants them to, got it?"

"Got it. Our secret."

"One more thing." Erik added, "If Charles gets overwhelmed, we leave immediately, okay?"

"No problem. From what I understand, he's got major issues with people. We just haven't seen him in a long time, you know?"

"I know. So what did you have in mind?"

"Well, we'd already planned for Thursday night, since most of us don't have to work Friday. Meet up at The Roadhouse around nine?"

Erik nodded. "Works for me. We'll see you there, then."

"Sweet! I'll let the others know to expect three more," Alex said. "Bye, Erik. Talk to you soon."

"See ya, Alex," Erik replied.

Alex quickly added, "Oh! And, Erik? If anything happens, let me or Sean know, okay? We'll take care of it from our end."

"Thanks, Alex. I will," Erik replied and hung up. How the hell was he going to get Charles to agree to come? Maybe he could get Raven to do it…

_"Dr. Lensherr to the OR. Dr. Lensherr to the OR."_

That was his cue. Wonder what the night shift's gonna spit up tonight, Erik thought as he left the break room.

* * *

"No."

Erik sighed as Charles crossed his arms. They'd been trying for a good twenty minutes to convince Charles to come with them on Thursday. It clearly wasn't working. He was also rather tired from doing double duty at the hospital: his normal night shift plus being called in just a few hours before coming over here. He tried again, "Charles, it's not like we're going to introduce you to a bunch of serial killers or something. It's your friends."

Charles shook his head, adamant. "No, I'm not going."

Raven and Erik exchanged exasperated looks. She threw her hands into the air and said, "Charles, what are you so afraid of?"

He looked away from them, his expression shuttering as he pulled away. Erik sighed. "Ray, give us a moment?"

She looked at him, huffed, but left. Honestly, how the two of them ever got along was a mystery to him. Erik went to sit next to Charles on the couch. Barely a week since Raven had called him over in a panic and there were times like this where he felt they were getting nowhere. "You don't have to stay long, you know. And Raven and I will be there the whole time; there's nothing to worry about."

Charles bit his lip, the only indication that he'd heard Erik.

Erik asked softly, "What is it, Charles?"

He hesitated and then said, so softly that Erik had to strain to hear it, "I'm not sure I'm ready to face them; to face their questions. Their judgment."

Erik was sure his heart broke a bit at the admission. He reached over, took Charles' hand—the injured one—and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I know you're scared; you have every right to be. But _they're not Jon._ They're your friends that you've known for years. And I've talked to Alex; you won't have to worry about questions. You don't have to answer them, anyway."

"But…" he hesitated.

"But what?"

"Never mind," Charles sighed and his hand tightened around Erik's momentarily. "All right. I'll go. But only for a little bit, mind you."

Erik smiled at him, a little bit of pride slipping through. He did wonder what Charles was going to say, but "Great," came out instead. He called Raven back into the room—she was just in the kitchen, most likely eavesdropping like she usually did—and told her it was all set. "I'll pick you up around 8:30."

She frowned. "Why don't we just meet you and the others there?"

"You're not exactly one for being on time, Raven," Charles pointed out, his hand still gripping Erik's.

Raven scowled at him but turned back to Erik and said, "I am perfectly capable of driving myself and my brother to a bar, Erik."

"On a normal day, yes, I would agree with you. But you're forgetting that you get completely trashed when you go out."

"Do not!"

"You're not driving, Raven. And there's no way Charles can drive with a broken wrist so I'll be driving the three of us. End of discussion," Erik said firmly.

Raven's mouth opened and closed a couple times before she dropped onto a chair with a slump. "Can't argue with that, can I?"

Charles gave her a half smile. "I would advise against it. You're not likely to win."

Raven pouted and Erik laughed, Raven's pout turning into a reluctant smile as the mood lightened considerably. Glancing at the clock, Erik reached for the remote and switched the television on, hunting through channels until he found Charles' favorite quiz show. He then leaned back to enjoy the competition, still holding onto Charles' hand, content to do so as long as he needed the support.

* * *

Raven tugged him through the door, urging him to go faster. "Come on, Erik's waiting for us out front. Let's go!"

"Raven, it will take us five minutes, at the most, to get down there," Charles said, exasperated. "He will wait." They'd barely left the apartment and he was already regretting his decision to come.

She punched the button for the elevator and crossed her arms over her black minidress, tapping her extremely high stilettos as they waited. "We should have been down there waiting for him."

"That is not my fault. You are the one who couldn't decide which shoes to wear," he retorted, straightening the sleeve of his jacket so it covered his cast. He'd opted for a more casual approach: jeans, a dress shirt, sweater and jacket.

"Hey, what shoes a girl wears when she goes out is very important!" Now she sounded indignant. Thankfully, the elevator door slid open at that point.

They got in; Raven hit the lobby button and stepped back. Charles let her stew for the ride down instead of responding. He knew from experience that it was better to just let her get it out of her system. Before long, she was back to tugging him along, this time through the main lobby.

Charles was expecting to find a car waiting on the curb; what he was not expecting was the extremely well-dressed man leaning against the passenger side door, arms crossed, with a smile on his face as they approached. He was also not expecting the little flutter his heart gave at the sight of Erik in jeans, a black turtleneck, and his customary leather jacket.

"Evening, Charles. Raven."

"Hello, Erik," Charles said softly. "Thank you for picking us up."

Erik shrugged. "I figured not only would it be safer than having your sister drive—"

"Hey!"

"—but it also made sure you wouldn't try to back out."

"Raven wouldn't let me," he replied, a little sullenly. And, oh, did he try. Erik just laughed and stepped aside to open the passenger side door. Charles got in, Raven climbed into the back—how, Charles didn't know, because her outfit was not designed for moving—while Erik slid into the driver's seat and drove off.


	7. Chapter 7

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

**Hope y'all are still with me and still like it. Also, I apologize in advance for any fans of the New York Knicks. I'm not a sports fan and have no idea of how the team actually is :D**

* * *

The Roadhouse. My god, he hadn't been here in nearly a decade. Charles stood on the sidewalk while Erik fed the meter quarters and wondered if he would even recognize his old friends. Erik interrupted his thoughts, coming up next to him and bumping his shoulder. Charles looked over at him with a start.

"You ready?" Erik asked.

Charles responded honestly, "No. Not at all."

"You'll be fine; trust me." Erik started for the door.

_Always, my old friend,_ Charles thought, but couldn't bring himself to say out loud, as he followed his friend, Raven bringing up the rear.

Once inside, however, Raven took the lead. "I can see them; they've gotten a booth in the back." She leaned back to nudge Charles and said, "I told you we would be late. We're the last ones here."

Charles swallowed hard. He couldn't even bring himself to tease her back as he unconsciously gravitated closer to Erik. He was suddenly—and probably irrationally—scared of what they would think of him, of their judgment. Erik's arm abruptly brushed against his, distracting him. He looked up and met Erik's eyes.

Erik smiled reassuringly. "Remember, they might ask questions but you don't have to answer if you don't want to. They'll change topics soon enough." Charles managed a faint smile and faced forward, focusing on Raven's bright gold heels until they came to a stop.

Looking up, Charles saw the whole group sitting there: Moira, Emma, Angel, Hank, Alex, and Sean. _He really did mean everyone_, Charles thought. _The only ones missing are Azazel and Janos, but that can only be a good thing_. Those two had no qualms about pushing someone past the point of comfort. Emma was like that, as well, but at least she could be convinced to stop.

Alex was the first one to his feet, coming over to give Charles a handclasp and half-hug. "Good to see you, man! It's been way too long."

"Indeed it has, my friend," Charles said as they separated.

Moira hugged him next, whispering in his ear, "It's good to see you, Charles."

His breath caught in his throat as she pulled back and gave him a smile. The others contented themselves with waves and greetings. Raven shoved Alex over, ordering him to make room for her next to Hank. "I do want to sit next to my boyfriend, Alex, if you wouldn't mind."

Alex made a face in her direction but moved just the same. He ended up moving across the table so he sat next to Moira and across from Raven, who then stuck her tongue out at Alex. A slight smile touched Charles' lips at their antics. It was nice to know that some things remained the same amongst them. A hand on his back made him jump before realizing it was Erik. He gave the other man an apologetic look.

Erik just smiled and gestured toward the bench. "You first."

_Oh._ This was his last chance to get out of this. But even as he hesitated, he had this niggling feeling that maybe, just maybe, he could relax for a couple hours. Taking a deep breath, Charles slid onto the bench. Erik slid in after him.

"So," Emma said, leaning around Moira to look at Charles, "what brings you back to New York, Charles?"

"Um, well," Charles ineffectually scrambled for something to say.

Raven came to his rescue. "To visit me, duh."

Emma's eyes narrowed. "You never said anything about a visit, Raven. And why is he here alone?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "He's not alone; he's with me and Erik, clearly. And since when do I have to tell you everything that goes on in my life, Emma? I can have visitors without having to ask your permission."

As the two of them glared at each other, Charles trying to become invisible to avoid similar questions, the others exchanged glances. You could almost see the electricity shooting from their gazes. Clearing his throat, Alex said, "So, anybody keeping up with the Knicks? Or am I the only one interested in the fact that they're currently shit?"

Thankfully, that eased the tension between the two women and the conversation took a turn away from Charles for the moment. Drinks and snacks were ordered and after an hour, Charles felt himself relaxing fully for the first time in a very long time. Of course, that was about the time that Raven's favorite song came on and she stopped talking midsentence to climb out of the booth. She turned to Erik—even Charles knew that Hank didn't dance—held out her hand and demanded, "Dance with me."

"Raven, I don't dance," he told her.

"Liar." Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "I've seen you dance. Now, come on. Before it ends and I have to go request that they play it again."

With a sigh, Erik gave in. He leaned over, putting a hand on Charles' leg and squeezing it briefly, and said in an undertone, "Alex, keep Emma in check for me?"

Alex glanced at the blonde then back. He nodded. "I'll do my best, Erik."

Erik nodded, gave Charles a quick smile and then Raven got tired of waiting and dragged him onto the dance floor.

Alex, Sean and Hank started talking only to be interrupted once again by Emma. "How's Michigan, Charles?"

He swallowed. "It's good."

"And the boyfriend?" she asked pointedly.

Charles felt the blood drain from his face but managed to say, "Fine. He's back—back there."

"He didn't want to come?" Moira asked.

"Ah, n—no. He couldn't get away," Charles lied, pleased with the fact that his voice was still steady. He tried to subtly pull his sleeve down before they could catch sight of the cast. That was one question he knew he wouldn't be able to answer.

Moira gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry you had to come here without him, but it's great to see you again. You kind of vanished off the face of the planet for a while there."

He swallowed hard. "Yeah. Um, sorry about that." He winced. "Wasn't really planned."

"What do you mean?" Sean entered the conversation now.

Alex abruptly said, "Dude, he moved to another state, in another time zone. Not like you keep in touch, either. It's only because I work with you that I can get you to commit to things."

Sean rolled his eyes and Emma said, "All right, boys, move so I can go out and dance." Hank and Sean quickly got to their feet to let her out, sliding back onto the bench afterwards. She then turned and, in a movement so quick, grabbed Charles' arm and dragged him away from the booth, into the press of people on the dance floor.

He let out a squeak of surprise as he felt his arm yanked and stumbled after her. "Emma," he protested, trying to pull free. "Emma, I don't really feel like dancing."

"Of course you do," she said brightly and turned around to face him. As she started to move her hips to the music, Charles stood there, feeling extremely uncomfortable. The music pulsed louder and Emma laughed. Shouting to be heard over the bass, Emma told him, "Loosen up! It's a bar not a library, Charles!" She took his hands and got him to dance stiffly, making her laugh again.

The song switched, to a slower song. Emma took that opportunity to press up against him, placing his hands on her waist and her arms around his neck. Swaying awkwardly in place, Charles thought, _I've changed my mind. This is a really bad idea._

Emma leaned in closer, laying her head on his shoulder. When she spoke, he could feel her breath hot on his ear and flinched. "I've known you and Erik for a long time, Charles, and I know there's something going on that I don't know about. Yet."

"Emma—"

"Ah, ah, don't try to lie to me. I'm much more perceptive than you think." Her breath ghosted across his neck as she nuzzled closer. Charles started looking around for Erik or Raven to come and rescue him. "This is just a…call it a warning. I don't know why you're back or why it seems like you two are together again but know this: break Erik's heart again, and I will make you regret it." Emma pulled back and smiled innocently at him, but Charles knew it was anything but.

Stunned, he stopped moving and stared at her. _What did she mean by that? It's been so long but…wait, does…does Erik still have feelings for me like I do for him?_ He had to look away from her scheming gaze and found his own gaze drifting to the side, to the suddenly visible bar. Erik stood there, talking with Alex, but as his eyes fell on the other man, Erik looked up. Their eyes met and Charles felt himself blush. He heard himself say, "Don't worry, Emma. I won't."

Emma didn't say anything for a minute but must have seen or heard something that convinced her he was sincere because she abruptly nodded and said, "Good." Then she pulled free of his hold and slipped through the crowd, disappearing from sight and leaving him alone on the dance floor among the gyrating bodies.

Charles tore his gaze away from Erik after Emma left, looking around for an exit. _Where the hell did she go?_ _Okay, okay, just…pick a direction. You'll end up at the edge eventually._ He started to his left, since that was where he'd seen Erik and Alex but couldn't any longer. _Right?_

The song changed as he moved and it was one of those beats that made everyone want to jump up and down. People pressed against him on all sides. He felt himself get turned around, pushed back and forth, and his sense of direction got turned upside down. Charles felt himself begin to panic. Would he never get out of here? The constant bumping had him pulling his arms into his chest, trying to make his body smaller, hoping it would protect him somewhat.

Someone hit him rather hard from behind, laughing uproariously over the music, and Charles tripped over someone else's feet. Unable to catch himself, Charles desperately tried to grab onto someone. A hand grasped his arm, just above the edge of the cast, and hauled him back onto his feet. Looking up, his panic subsided a bit.

"You okay?" Erik said loudly over the music, leaning in to make sure Charles could hear him.

Breathing rapidly, trying to calm his frantically racing heart, he could only nod, unable to find his voice at the moment. Erik frowned, worry creasing his forehead, and tightened his grip as he escorted Charles off the floor and back to the booth.

Moira immediately jumped up from the bench and reached for him. "Oh my god. Charles, are you all right?"

Still caught in the emotional turmoil of feeling trapped, Charles pulled back before she could reach him. In some rational part of his brain, he knew she meant well, but that part wasn't working very well right then. Erik pulled him closer and Moira backed off, shooting concerned glances at Hank and Sean. "You're sure you're okay?" Erik asked.

He nodded again, letting out a breathy, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." He offered a shaky smile and Erik took it, tugging him down onto the bench beside him.

Raven, Angel, Alex and Emma returned at one point but Charles was unaware of anything other than the warmth of Erik's body pressed against his side, the arm curved protectively around his waist and the thoughts bouncing around inside his head after his "chat" with Emma took precedence now that he was with his friends, the trapped feeling having subsided somewhat. There was no denying that Charles still felt that flutter at the sight of his old boyfriend, or that Erik's touch still made his heart race. He remembered the way he felt when their eyes met across the dance floor, that feeling in the pit of his stomach and the rush of heat in his cheeks. Charles wondered if she were right, that Erik—no, he couldn't think it. Oh god, what did he do now?

His heart rate kicked right back up as his anxiety level rose in accordance with his distress. Charles turned to his right and said, "Erik?" It was hard, trying to keep his voice steady, and it cracked as he continued, "Erik, can we go?" Damn it, he sounded desperate.

Erik studied him for a second, eyes narrowed, before nodding. "Okay. Just let me tell the others and then we'll go."

Charles fidgeted with his shirt sleeve as Erik interrupted the conversations to inform their friends that they were leaving. Raven argued, as he'd known she would, but he honestly couldn't bring himself to care. He needed to get out here, to go somewhere he felt safe.

He jumped a couple inches when Erik nudged him to get his attention. "All right, Moira's volunteered to drive Raven home. I didn't feel like arguing with her." The _not while you're like this_ remained unspoken but Charles could hear it in his voice anyway.

"Okay," Charles whispered, hugging himself. He let Erik put an arm around his waist, pulling him close, and let Erik lead him outside. It was blessedly quieter out on the street but Charles still didn't feel safe; wouldn't until he was back at his sister's.

Erik got him in the car, buckled in, and then he went around to his side and got in, all without a word. _Please hurry,_ he thought. _This was such a bad idea, I can't believe I didn't think this through, Erik's going to think I'm a coward and Jon'll find me and_—

His inner babble was cut off by a hand wrapping around his. Charles' head snapped to the left. Erik stared straight ahead but his hand squeezed Charles' briefly and Charles latched onto the gesture, trying to focus on that instead of the thoughts going through his head without stopping.

* * *

Erik pulled into the empty spot on the curb, turned off his car, and glanced over at his passenger. Charles' face was white and he had a death grip on Erik's hand; a grip Erik was reluctant to break but they couldn't get out of the car like this. "Charles," he said gently. "Charles, we're here; you need to let go." Charles shook his head. _Sorry, my friend, but I have to do this._ He reached over and pried his hand free, biting the inside of his cheek at the look of panic Charles shot him. Steeling himself—and wondering what the hell had happened at the bar—Erik got out and hurried around to open Charles' door.

Charles was fumbling with the seatbelt buckle so Erik leaned in and undid it for him. He got out of the car, shaking slightly, and Erik pulled him flush against his chest, just holding him for a minute. Charles' hands fisted in his jacket and Erik rubbed his back. Something had upset him. Or someone. If Emma had pushed him…

Erik murmured, "Come on, love; let's get inside."

Charles' breath hitched but he nodded and they walked into the lobby, using Erik's spare key. He hoped that by the time they reached Raven's apartment door that Charles would be aware enough to pull out the keys Erik knew were in his pocket. It would be extremely awkward to have to get them himself.

Once in the elevator, Charles pressed up against him again. Erik frowned worriedly. "Charles, what happened? Did someone say something to you?"

_Ding._ The elevator signaled their arrival, effectively stopping the younger man from answering as they exited. Thankfully, Charles seemed to relax a tiny bit the closer they got to Raven's apartment and he fumbled in his pocket for the key she'd made for him. The key ring dropped to the floor with a clatter. Erik bent over to pick them up and unlocked the door, ushering Charles inside.

Charles went to the living room and when Erik walked in after closing and locking the door behind them, he found the other man curled up in a ball on the couch, a pillow crushed against his chest. Erik sat next to him. "Talk to me, Charles. What happened? You were doing just fine before I found you on the dance floor."

Charles refused to look at him, mumbling something into the pillow. With a sigh, Erik said, "Can't hear you, Charles."

"I…got…overwhelmed." His voice trembled.

Erik frowned. There was more to it than that, he was sure of it. "By what? You'll feel better if you talk about it," he added when Charles hesitated still.

He lowered the pillow somewhat. "Emma…dragged me out there. Then left me alone. I—I couldn't find my way out. There were so many people, all pushing against me, I couldn't…couldn't see…" Charles' voice trailed off and his shoulders shook.

Erik threw an arm across his friend's shoulders and tugged him closer. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay. I found you, you're at Raven's. Everything's all right."

Charles turned into the comfort, tears falling as he did. Erik soothed him as best he could, aware that he was only fixing part of the problem. Damn it, he knew Emma must have had something to do with this. And Alex! He was supposed to prevent this when Erik couldn't.

As the tears slowed and stopped, so did Charles' energy level. His head drooped, and he bit back a yawn. Erik settled back against the cushions on the far end, shifting Charles so he was on his back, his head on Erik's lap. He grabbed one of the books sitting on the end table and, using one hand, set it against the armrest to read while he ran his other hand tenderly through Charles' hair, lulling him to sleep.

He heard Raven come home hours later, heard her stumble past the dimly lit living room to her bedroom. Erik shook his head, stifling a chuckle. She was going to have a horrible hangover tomorrow. Charles let out a little moan, his eyes fluttering, and Erik quickly went back to stroking his hair. Raven's thumping must have woken him. It worked, soothing him back to sleep. After another hour or so, Erik got off the couch, sliding a pillow in his place under Charles' head. He grabbed a blanket from the guest bedroom and draped it over the sleeping man.

Erik made sure that Charles was asleep as he wrote a brief note in case the other man woke and panicked. Looking back from the doorway, a tender look crossed Erik's face. He hadn't realized until now just how much he'd missed having Charles in his life and he certainly wasn't going to give him up again without a fight. A fond smile creased his lips as Erik made his way out of the Xaviers' apartment and back to his own.


	8. Chapter 8

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

"First we knew of it was when Erik got called in because the idiots landed in the hospital. Boy, was he pissed," Raven said, laughing along with her brother as they made their way down the sidewalk. They'd had to park further than she liked from the apartment building but Charles didn't seem to mind, smiling as they walked along, arms linked. He was getting better at being out in social situations and she was proud of him; especially after his breakdown at the bar last week. They'd just come back from dinner out with Hank and Moira. Baby steps, baby steps.

"When did this happen?" he asked her.

"About four years ago."

Charles shook his head. "Unbelievable. I thought they'd grown out of doing things like that."

Raven grinned at him. "Yeah, well, when you're trying to jump a swing set on a kiddie bike, things are bound to go wrong."

"You would think at least Alex would have some sense not to do that."

She shrugged. "Sean's not really a good influence on him."

He snorted. "That's for sure. They were a right terror in middle school, if I remember rightly. How badly were they injured, anyway?"

"Oh, not that bad. Alex broke a couple ribs, twisted his ankle. Sean had a concussion and tons of bruises. Idiots tried to jump it together."

Charles winced at the image, amusement still coloring his tone as he said, "I hope Erik yelled at them."

She pulled her arm from his as they reached the front door and rummaged through her purse for her key ring. "Oh, yeah. The hospital staff was rather amused at it. From what I heard, it sounded like he was lecturing five year olds about safety. I wish I could have seen it." The key clicked in the lock and she pulled the door open, moving to the side to let her brother in first. As she turned, however, she noticed that he wasn't there anymore.

"Charles?" Raven stepped towards the street, letting the door slam shut—her key still in the lock—as she looked around for any sign of her abruptly absent brother. "Charles!" She tried again, frowning in concern.

Just then a grunt sounded from her left. Her head snapped in that direction. The street was empty. When she heard it again, she decided to go and check it out. Making her way to the corner of the building, Raven saw two figures struggling in the dark alley next to the apartment building. _It couldn't be…_

"Go inside!" someone shouted, sounding panicked. It sounded like her brother. But who was the other person?

The other figure shoved Charles to the ground, making him cry out as he made contact with the hard concrete. In the faint moonlight, Raven finally made out a male physique, taller than her and Charles, dressed in loose, dark clothing. As he turned to face her, a hood dropping from his head, the moonlight danced across his face and she took an involuntary step back in revulsion at the lecherous look on his face.

It was evident in his voice, as well, as he spoke. "So…this must be Raven. Pretty little thing." He quirked an eyebrow at her as his eyes swept slowly up and down her body.

_Oh, god. It's Jon. He's found Charles._ Panic flooded through her but then determination to protect Charles forced out any previous feelings. She had to get her brother away from his ex, before any more damage was done.

"Raven, please, go." Charles' voice was full of pain and fear. "Get out of here."

She shook her head. There was no way in hell she was leaving him. Raven walked forward, into the alley. Charles tried to get up but Jon just turned and shoved his foot into Charles' chest, knocking him back down.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Raven said.

Jon laughed cruelly, making her shiver slightly. "You're gonna make me?" His voice was light, mocking, disbelieving. He didn't think her any threat. She'd make him regret that thinking.

Raven answered, "I could scream or I could just call the police. Your choice, Jon." Her voice was even, not a trace of fear or uncertainty evident.

It made Jon pause, his eyes narrowing as he realized she wasn't scared of him like her brother was. Clouds shifted, spilling moonlight down so Jon's eyes glittered, anger flashing in them. He spat, "Stay out of this, bitch!"

Raven dropped her purse on the ground, bristling at the insult despite her best attempts to remain calm, and walked forward. "Last chance: let my brother go or I call the police."

Jon leaned to the side, putting his weight on the foot resting against Charles' chest. Raven rushed forward at the cry of pain; it seemed to fill the alley with its echoes.

Jon chuckled, stepping away from her brother and throwing a punch at her faster than she'd thought he could move. She quickly ducked under his arm and swung back. He grabbed her outstretched arm, dragging her stumbling forward a few steps, and then whipped her arm out and back. Pain shot through her right arm as it was wrenched behind her back and she gasped at the shock of it. He shoved her arm further upwards, bending it the wrong way, and she bit back a cry of her own, teeth digging into her lower lip to try and offset the pain, knowing an outcry would only worry Charles more. He needed to focus on getting himself out of the way rather than her safety.

_Focus on the soft spots, the vulnerabilities of your attacker._ Alex's voice drifted through her head suddenly. _You're not strong enough to take on someone in a full-on fight. Fighting dirty may seem wrong, Ray, but it'll help because you're lighter and smaller than your would-be attacker._

Self-defense lessons she'd forced Alex to teach her a few years back. He'd told her he didn't think it was necessary but had given her a few little tricks, just in case. _Well, this is definitely necessary,_ she thought, and jammed the heel of her stiletto into the arch of Jon's foot, right in front of the ankle.

Jon howled in pain, loosening his grip on her arm. She tossed her head to get her hair out of the way and then jammed her free elbow into his groin. He doubled over, groaning, and, in the process, released her. Raven immediately ran over to her brother, who was getting unsteadily to his feet. Raven took one of his arms across her shoulders and hurried them out of the alley, stopping only briefly to pick up her purse.

They rounded the corner, stumbling, and Raven opened the front door as fast as her shaking fingers could go. She practically threw Charles through the opening, slamming the door behind her just as Jon came into sight. The sound of the automatic lock was an unbelievable relief and Raven put a hand to her chest as her breath came out in a rush. _Oh, thank god._

Jon tried to pull the door open through brute force, his eyes on the siblings. Raven recoiled at the anger and hatred on his face; it looked like he wanted to kill her for thwarting his attempt to…to do whatever it was he planned on doing to her brother. Taking a deep breath, Raven determinedly turned away from him, grabbed Charles and headed for the staircase. There was no way in hell she was taking the elevator; that would make it far too easy for him to find out what floor she lived on and come after them again.

But…how had he found them in the first place? She vaguely recalled Charles saying something about Jon planning to hurt her, but…she frowned as they started their climb. _How?_

* * *

Raven's hands shook as she unlocked her apartment door, the adrenaline gone and the events catching up with her brain. Charles was right behind her. As soon as they were inside, she locked the door and grabbed her phone. Charles went into the living room as she dialed, not even sure who she was calling until it was answered.

A male voice answered on the third ring. "Hello?"

Raven sagged against the wall in relief. "Erik, thank god." Of course she called him.

"Raven, what is it? What's wrong?"

Raven moved to stand in the doorway to the living room, free arm wrapped tightly around her waist, as she said, "Can—can you come over?" She looked at her brother. Charles was sitting on the floor, his back to the couch, with his knees pulled in against his chest. He'd wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his head in them. It seemed like his whole body shook and her heart sunk.

"Why? What's happened? Are you both okay?" Even as his voice increased in worry, Raven could hear him moving around, getting ready to leave.

"Jon—Jon knows Charles is here." Even saying that much left her shaken. You hear about things like this happening all the time in New York, but never think it could happen to you until it does.

Erik was silent for a brief moment. "I'm on my way. Don't answer the door unless you're sure it's me."

"Thank you." Raven glanced at her brother and added, "And, Erik? Hurry."

A dial tone greeted her plea.

* * *

Raven alternated between pacing and sitting, unable to remain in one position for more than a couple minutes. Constantly glancing at the clock, she waited for Erik. Twenty minutes later, someone knocked on the door. She jumped, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Charles' head had snapped up in response, fear flitting across his face. Frozen, trying not to alert the person that there were people in the apartment, Raven fervently hoped it wasn't Jon at her door.

The person pounded on the door and Erik shouted through it, "Charles, Raven, it's Erik; open up!" Raven raised her eyes to the ceiling and scrubbed a hand over her face in relief before hurrying to the door and throwing it open.

Erik rushed inside, grabbed her shoulders and demanded to know, "Are you hurt?"

Raven shook her head, grateful for Alex's lessons. "He just wrenched my arm a little but other than that I'm fine, Erik. Shaken and scared, but I'm just glad you're here."

He relaxed slightly, pulling her into a tight hug. "Thank god."

Raven added, "Charles, on the other hand…"

Erik interrupted, "He's hurt? Where is he? Why didn't you tell me over the phone?"

"I don't think anything's broken or anything like that. But seeing Jon again…like that…" She bit her lip. "He's in the living room. He's been in another world since Jon showed up and it's scaring me. I don't know what to do, he won't even acknowledge that I'm here and I…I feel so useless."

Erik kissed her forehead. "It'll be okay. I can reach him; don't worry."

* * *

Erik pushed past Raven only to come to an abrupt halt in the doorway at the sight of his best friend on the floor, looking so small. Anger surged through him, battling with worry and concern in his thoughts. When Raven had called and said Jon was here…Imagination was its own worst enemy. He took a deep breath, then another, forcing the anger back—it wouldn't help. It would confuse and scare Charles right now. He knew that from some of his patients.

One last deep breath and Erik walked into the room, kneeling down in front of the other man so that, once Charles looked up, their eyes would be on the same level.

"Charles?" he ventured, striving for a soft, comforting tone of voice. Considering his thoughts, he wasn't all that sure he'd achieved it.

No response.

"Charles, it's all right. Can you look at me?" Charles still wouldn't lift his head.

Raven spoke up, her voice unsteady. "See what I mean? Plus, he probably can't even tell it's you."

"No." Erik growled, "He's confusing me with that son of a bitch."

Charles flinched at his shift in tone and Erik instantly seized on the reaction, softening his tone. "Charles, it's me. It's Erik. You know me; come on, look at me. You can do it."

Charles slowly lifted his head, fear still clearly written across his features, and Erik had to fight his anger back again. If he ever got the chance, Jon was never going to hurt Charles—or anyone—ever again.

Charles kept his eyes cast down, slowly bringing them up until they rested on Erik's face. Their eyes met—Erik worried about how pale he looked –and Charles' very blue eyes filmed over. "Erik?" he asked in a very small, quavering voice.

Erik smiled reassuringly at him. "I'm here, I'm right here, Charles. Everything's going to be okay; I promise."

Charles took a shaky breath, hissing it in and out through his teeth as Erik's words penetrated the haze of emotions. He blinked rapidly, his arms tightening around his legs, looking down. Relying on past experience, Erik knew better than to try to touch him without permission. Charles asked in a quiet voice, "How…h—how did you…"

"Raven called me." Erik knew what he was trying to ask. "I came as soon as I could." Somehow, over the past week or so, Charles had preferred to confide in Erik rather than Raven. He ached to pull the distraught man into his arms, to take away every painful memory and comfort him. He settled back on his heels, letting Charles choose when to reach out.

They remained that way for a couple minutes, Raven curled up on the loveseat with her legs folded under her, watching, before Charles lifted his head, his eyes bright with tears. He slowly unfolded, scooting closer to Erik in the process until their legs touched. Erik lifted a hand, reaching out to gently brush against Charles' arm.

When Charles didn't flinch, Erik let it rest there, a silent comfort. Charles finally spoke, his voice only barely stronger than before. "Will I never be free of him?"

Erik shot Raven a quick glance. She had a hand over her mouth. He turned back to Charles. "Yes, you just have to have faith, Charles. Don't lose hope. And don't worry; I'll keep you safe."

Charles met his gaze at last and asked, "Promise?"

Erik squeezed his arm and nodded. "I promise."

The last of his barriers dropped and Charles let the tears fall. Erik hesitated for a brief moment before thinking _Damn it all_ and enveloped the younger man in a tight embrace. Charles' whole body shook as the shock completely wore off and his emotions caught up with him. Erik rubbed soothing circles on his back, letting him cry himself out. There was no way in hell he was letting Charles stay here another night. Raven, either; not with Jon knowing they're here.

When Charles had cried himself out, Erik turned to Raven. "Pack what you need for the next couple of weeks."

She blinked, staring at him in astonishment. "What?"

"I'm not letting either of you stay here as long as that bastard knows where to find you. I'll take Charles to my place. He'll be safe there." Charles sniffled and Erik dropped a kiss to his hair.

"So where am I going?" Raven asked archly.

"Call Moira. Explain. Ask her to come pick you up."

"Moira! Erik, it's late; she's not going to—"

Erik firmly interrupted her. "Raven, either you call her or I will." His tone brooked no argument and one look at her let him know that she was mainly arguing for the sake of something normal to do. She was badly shaken and Moira, he knew, would take care of her, just as he was taking care of Charles.

Giving in, Raven said, "I'll get Charles' things ready for you."

"Thanks, Ray."

* * *

**Really curious as to your opinions on Jon, if y'all don't mind :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

Raven threw her suitcase into the backseat of Moira's car and turned around. Erik stood opposite her, his arm around her brother's shoulders, his duffle bag on the sidewalk. She knew Moira had been blindsided by the call but, like the true friend she was, she had offered her place for as long as Raven should need it. Stepping forward, Raven wished none of this had happened; that Charles had never met Jon. But maybe, she thought, glancing briefly at Erik, maybe it was a good thing he did, if it made their relationship stronger. Letting her brother out of her sight after this was going to be hard, but knowing Erik would be taking her place relieved her of some of her guilt.

Raven pointed a finger at Erik and said sternly, "You take care of him, you hear? I expect updates."

Erik nodded. "I will."

"Good." She nodded decisively and turned to her big brother, who looked very much like he wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. Blinking back sudden tears, Raven threw her arms around him and held on tight. Charles hugged her back just as tight, burying his face in her coat.

After a minute she pulled back. "Call me every day. Promise me."

"I promise. And, Ray?" Charles smiled faintly. "Thanks. For everything."

She returned his smile. "Well, what are little sisters for?"

Moira said softly, "We should get going, Raven."

"Us, too," Erik said.

Raven nodded. "I love you, Charles. See you soon." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and then whirled around and got in the car, Moira following.

* * *

"Love you, too, sis," Charles said softly as the girls drove off. And that was how he found himself leaving the place he'd thought would be safe. And yet…he felt safe with Erik. Erik picked up Charles' duffle bag and they set off down the sidewalk. Taking that first step was hard, considering what had recently happened, but he took a deep breath and kept going. As they walked, Erik's hand snaked out to pull him away from the street and onto Erik's left side. Charles kept hold of Erik's hand as they walked, using it to anchor himself in the present.

They made their way down the block in silence until Erik stopped in front of a silver Kia. He popped the trunk and stepped over to put the bag in it while Charles watched from the sidewalk. As soon as Erik had turned away from him, Charles felt someone grab his cast and yank him backwards until his back and head slammed into something hard. Stars danced across his vision and he gasped with the shock of it.

His eyes focused on a terribly familiar face as someone snarled, "Thought you could get away from me that easily, did you? And no little sister here to rescue you this time."

Charles' brain stopped. "_Jon,_" he breathed. Terror shot through him.

Jon wrapped a hand around his neck and started to squeeze, that sadistic smile creeping across his face as Charles started to feel lightheaded. He tried to call out Erik's name but the grip on his throat was too tight and it came out as more of a gasp. He tried to pull Jon's hand off, but his fingers scrabbled uselessly, unable to get a grip. Spots danced now, different than before, and he felt himself start to black out.

Almost instantly, though, the hand choking him was wrenched away and he sagged back against the wall, a hand on his chest, gasping for breath and trying to stay upright.

* * *

Erik's eyes were constantly on alert as he and Charles said goodbye to Raven and Moira, scanning the nearly empty street for any sign of danger. Again he wondered why he agreed to come so quickly when Raven called, but one look over at Charles and he knew the answer. Because he did, and always would, come when Charles needed him. His eyes softened; Charles looked so lost and all Erik wanted to do right then was pull him close and never let go. Last time he'd let Charles go, he'd run four states away with his abusive boyfriend (disregarding the fact that nobody had known about the abusive part at that point in time).

Erik shook his head as he dragged Charles away from the street. No, ex-boyfriend. No way in hell was Charles going back to Jon. Not while he had any say in it.

They reached his car soon since he'd parked as close to Raven's apartment as he could get in his rush to come over. Pulling out his keys, he popped the trunk and went to drop Charles' bag in it. He had just slammed the trunk shut when he heard a strangled gasp. Whipping around, Erik saw Charles pushed up against the wall of a store by a young man. He wore dark clothes, his blond hair shining in the light from the streetlamp, and he towered over Charles. With a scowl, Erik knew this had to be Jon and strode over.

Jon was threatening Charles and Erik struggled to control his fury. He reached out and yanked the guy back just as Jon taunted Charles about not having his sister to rescue him. Jon staggered back, freeing Charles, and Erik said in a falsely light tone, "Well, then, I'd say it's my turn to rescue him."

The look of relief on Charles's face gave Erik all the justification he would need.

Jon regained his balance and glared at Erik, blue eyes angry. "_You._"

Erik was startled for a second by the vehemence in the man's voice which was followed by the realization that Jon knew him, and knew him by sight. Erik knew how to throw him off; pretend he wasn't bothered. If Jon learned he couldn't get to Erik like he could Charles, then he would back off. So he smiled at Jon, showing his teeth. "I see introductions won't be necessary. Good."

Jon growled, "I figured he'd run to his sister, but he threw me off by going to Maine first."

_Brilliant, Charles._ Erik hid his pride by telling Jon firmly, "Charles wants nothing more to do with you. Leave New York."

"I'm not leaving without him."

"You're not leaving _with_ him." Erik's voice was barely above a growl himself. His hands fisted by his side. _Damn it, Erik; don't lose your temper._

Jon glanced at his fists, then over at Charles and grinned. Erik wondered what caused it but didn't dare take his eyes off the other man. Jon's grin turned into a smirk and he vowed, "I'll be back. You're not getting rid of me that easily, Charlie." Erik was seconds away from punching the smirk off his face when Jon abruptly turned and crossed the street, disappearing down an alley.

Once he was sure Jon was gone, Erik turned to his right. Charles' face was white, his eyes wide with fear. One hand gripped the windowsill, the other hovered over his heaving chest. Erik crossed the distance between them, pulling Charles flush against his chest, one arm sliding protectively around him, and putting his free hand on the back of Charles' head. Charles was shaking so much and he fisted his hands in Erik's jacket. _Damn, that was close_, Erik thought, his own breath a little shaky.

When Charles's shaking eased somewhat, Erik ushered him into the car. "Come on; the sooner we get to my place, the better you'll feel."

* * *

Erik had turned the radio on and Charles was grateful for the distraction, despite the fact that it was mostly late night talk shows; anything to think about other than what was foremost in his mind. He dimly recognized that Erik's apartment building had an underground parking garage as they pulled into an empty space. The white noise of the radio cut off and Erik got out of the car. Charles didn't bother to wait, climbing out, desperately needing to keep his friend in sight. The trunk was open and Charles joined Erik as he pulled the duffle bag out.

Erik threw the strap over his head, slammed the trunk shut and reached for Charles' left hand, lacing their fingers together. Charles felt his cheeks heat despite himself and was grateful for the dark lighting so Erik wouldn't see him blush.

Erik said, "Come on; the door's this way."

As they walked, Charles kept looking around, knowing his nerves were shot and every sound was increased tenfold. Erik had just pulled his key out when a loud _boom_ echoed through the garage. Charles jumped, grabbing onto Erik's arm with his other hand, despite the cast.

Erik instantly moved so that Charles was in between him and the door, and Charles buried his face in his back, feeling the muscles tense and his heart race. After a minute, he felt Erik relax and turn back around. He kissed Charles' forehead and said reassuringly, "Just a car door; nothing to worry about."

Charles nodded, lowering his hand, and Erik opened the door, making sure Charles went in first. The hall was empty and they walked past the door to the maintenance room before reaching the elevator. All the way up to the sixth floor and down the hall to Erik's apartment door, not once did Erik let go of Charles' hand and Charles wasn't sure if he wanted him to or not.

Erik unlocked the door and pulled Charles in after him, closing and locking it behind them. Charles looked around. Erik had clearly moved since Charles was last in his apartment, but some of the furniture remained comfortingly the same.

"Been a while," Erik said, his tone reflective. Charles nodded and Erik gave his hand a tug. "Bedroom's this way."

Charles blindly followed until he found himself standing in the middle of the bedroom, clutching a pair of pajamas to his chest and watching Erik gather his own. Erik looked over and, with a fond smile, gestured to the bathroom. "Go on; change. I'll wait."

Blushing again, Charles scurried across the room and closed the door. Pulling his jeans off and pajama pants on went okay, but when he tried to lift his shirt over his head, pain shot through him. "Ah!" He bit his lip, hard. "Okay," he said to himself. "That hurt."

A knock on the door startled him. "Charles? You okay?"

Charles hesitated. "Y—yeah, just having a little trouble with my shirt."

"Do you want help?" Good question. Did he? The answer usually turned into an overwhelming _yes__._

"Do you mind?"

The door opened and Erik came in, already in his own pajamas. With a minimum of pain, Erik eased Charles' arms out of his shirt and over his head. Charles ducked his head as his injuries became visible but Erik didn't say a word. He just reached for the t-shirt and helped Charles into it. Then they went back into the bedroom.

Erik got him settled before heading for the door. _He's leaving me alone_. Charles cried out, "Wait!" Erik turned in the doorway, a quizzical look on his face. Charles fiddled with the edge of the covers as he tentatively requested, "Could—could you stay? Just until I fall asleep?"

"Of course." Erik climbed into the bed next to Charles, pulling him close and letting him snuggle into the warmth and comfort of Erik's embrace. Charles closed his eyes only to yank them open again as Jon's face swam into view. "Shh…it's okay." Erik rubbed his back soothingly and Charles felt his eyes drift shut again. He wasn't aware when Erik shifted him onto his own pillow and slipped out of the room.

* * *

It was only after Charles had finally settled into an uneasy sleep and Erik had started down the hall that he remembered his promise to Alex. Slapping his forehead and groaning, Erik fished his cell phone out and dialed his friend's number, flopping down on the couch as he did so.

Alex answered with a curt, "I'm a little busy at the moment, Erik. Sean and I are working a double homicide. Can whatever it is wait til tomorrow?"

Erik said flatly, "Jon attacked Charles and Raven."

A _thump_ answered him and Alex swore loudly enough to make Erik pull the phone away from his ear for a second. "When?" He could hear papers rustling in the background.

"A couple hours ago, in the alley next to her apartment building."

He heard Alex faintly shout, "Sean! Get over here!" His voice got louder as he returned to their conversation. "Are they okay? Where are they? Did you see Jon?"

Erik propped his feet up on his coffee table and replied, "Raven's fine, a little shaken. I think a couple of Charles' old injuries might flare up but that's the extent of his physical injuries. He's terrified it'll happen again. I finally got him to fall asleep."

Alex sighed. "Where are they now? Are you with them?"

Erik shook his head, despite the fact that he knew Alex couldn't see him. "No, I sent Raven to Moira's for the foreseeable future and Charles is staying with me. Didn't want to take the chance that Jon might find his way inside to Ray's apartment."

He could hear Alex relaying what he said to Sean, who seemed to have finally arrived. "Good, thanks for letting us know, Erik."

Erik said, somewhat sheepishly, "I almost forgot until a few minutes ago or I would've had you come over. Or had Raven call you."

Sean's voice entered, a little faint because Alex held the phone. "Don't worry about it, Erik. They're safe, we know now, and we'll all be on the alert. We can put in a quick report so it's in the system just in case there is a next time, if you want."

"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it."

As one, Alex and Sean said in sync, "No problem."

A female voice sounded in the background and Alex said, "Sorry, gotta go. Caught a lead. _Finally._"

"Good luck. Hope you catch the bastard."

"Thanks, we'll talk tomorrow," Alex told him and they hung up.

Erik tossed his phone on the table next to his feet, picked up the remote and toyed with it, debating whether he wanted to watch something or just go to sleep. He ended up watching some action movie for an hour before drifting off.


	10. Chapter 10

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

**Your reactions to Jon were totally gratifying, thank you! Especially CelticAngel86 and, as always, ToughGirlsRuleTheWorld. Love you two.**

* * *

Erik woke up abruptly, rubbing his eyes and wondering what had woken him. Sitting up, he scrubbed a hand through his hair and looked around. Everything was as he'd left it when he went to bed, except that the couch pillows were on the floor.

_Crash!_

_The hell…?_ Erik shot to his feet, instantly awake. He did a circle. Nothing in the living room appeared to have fallen or broken. It was much too loud to have been something outside. Which just left…He hurried down the hall and opened the bedroom door. Charles was tossing and turning on the bed, covers tangled around him, the bedside lamp in two on the floor. Deciding to deal with that later, Erik stepped over to the bed and reached over to wake him.

Charles sat up with a gasp. When his gaze landed on Erik, his breath came out in a rush. "Erik."

"You okay?" Erik asked, settling on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah," Charles answered, still trying to catch his breath. "It was just…a nightmare. I've had them before."

"You want to talk about it?" Charles shook his head, but there was something about how he tried to blow it off that had Erik leaning forward and placing a hand over Charles'.

"I just…" he sighed. "I keep seeing…him."

There was no doubt who Charles was talking about and Erik squeezed his hand. "You're safe here; you know that, right?"

Charles smiled weakly. "I'm trying to."

Erik returned it and, to distract him and try to get him to go back to sleep, started to tell Charles about some of his more outrageous patients—keeping any identifying information out, of course. Three stories later, Charles was yawning and Erik smiled to himself. "Go back to sleep, Charles. There's still a few hours left til morning."

"I'm fi—" he interrupted himself with a yawn that cracked his jaw loud enough for Erik to hear.

Erik chuckled. "Sure you are." He gently pushed Charles back down, pulled the covers up and backed up. Charles made that face—the one Erik could never say no to—in a silent plea for him to stay. He sighed and said, "Scoot over, then."

Charles looked confused, but his expression cleared almost instantly and he slid over to make room for Erik. Oddly enough, as Erik slid under the covers and Charles curled into his side with a tired smile, Erik realized that he'd stopped fighting…whatever it was between them. Their old relationship was coming back; Charles was slotting back into his life almost as if he'd never left. Erik's last thought before falling asleep himself was of contentment, a sense of rightness that had been missing until now.

* * *

A knock on the door startled them. Erik put a reassuring hand on Charles' arm and said quietly, "Stay here. I'll see who it is." He left Charles curled up on the couch and peered through the peephole. Letting out a soft chuckle, he asked Charles, "Feel like company?" Charles gave him a quizzical look but Erik just pulled the door open to admit Alex Summers and Sean Cassidy, both with bags in hand.

Alex beamed at him, holding up a six-pack. "Hey, man! Brought dinner."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Erik asked. He shut and locked the door behind the two men as they dumped their burdens on the coffee table.

Sean said, "Haven't seen you two in a while and we just closed a case so we're celebrating!"

Erik raised an eyebrow. "With beer and Chinese takeout?" His voice was skeptical.

Alex shrugged and headed for the kitchen. "Why not? Which cupboard do you keep plates in?"

"Over the sink. You saw us last week."

"Thanks. And that didn't count." Alex grabbed a plate, made a sound of disgust and tossed it into the sink, reaching for another one. "Don't you clean these? I mean, they make a dishwasher for a reason, Erik."

Glancing at Charles, Erik ignored the insult and asked, "You couldn't have called? We might have had plans."

Alex looked over his shoulder at him, eyebrows raised. "Seriously? Did we not just talk a week ago about how you never go out? So we came in." As an afterthought, he added, "You guys don't mind, do you?"

"That's up to Charles," Erik informed him as he settled on the couch. Charles immediately curled into him and Erik could feel him relaxing as he looped an arm around Charles' shoulders.

Sean glanced up from where he was stuffing food into his mouth. "Charles? Do you mind if we hang for a couple hours?"

Charles hesitated but nodded. His voice was quiet as he answered, "No, it's okay, Sean."

"Sweet." Sean shoved another forkful into his mouth and Alex smacked him on the back of his head as he joined them with four plates.

Handing him one, Alex ordered, "Use a plate, like a normal human being. And stop eating out of the container; it's disgusting."

Erik laughed, saying to Charles, "It's a wonder they ever manage to work without killing each other, isn't it?"

Charles chuckled softly. "It seems they haven't grown up any since I was last here."

"Not a bit," Erik said ruefully.

"Hey!" Alex had heard them. "Insulted here!" They just exchanged grins. "Do you want any of this before the bottomless pit here eats it all?"

Sean's turn to smack Alex. Erik shook his head at their antics and leaned forward to fill the two remaining plates for him and Charles.

They spent the next couple hours eating and catching up with each other, managing to avoid any mention of what brought Charles to New York. Sean did touch upon it a couple times but, between them, Alex and Erik contrived to change the subject as quickly as possible.

Charles excused himself to go to the bathroom at one point and, as soon as they heard the door close, Alex said, "So?"

"So...what?" Erik replied, confused.

"So when did this happen?" Alex gestured down the hall to where Charles had disappeared.

Erik stared at his friends. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Dude, you're dating Charles again," Sean said, his tone implying that Erik was deliberately playing dumb.

Erik choked on his beer. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he spluttered, "What! No. Why would you even…no."

"But you still like him." Sean sounded confused.

"It's—it's not that I don't like him…"

"Then…what?" Alex asked. "Don't say he doesn't still like you because clearly" he laughed, "he does. I mean, why else would he be practically sitting in your lap for the past two hours?"

Erik ran his fingers through his hair. Seriously? Did they have to do this now, when Charles was just down the hall? "He's scared, Alex. He trusts me. That's all there is to it."

"Uh huh," Alex said, his tone skeptical. He took a swig from his bottle. "Sean and I both know how heartbroken you were when he left and everyone knows that you never stopped loving him."

Erik's mouth opened and closed a couple times, trying to find something to say.

Sean interrupted him, hissing suddenly, "He's coming back."

Alex quickly informed Erik, "This conversation's not over."

Erik would have argued that it was, but Charles re-entered the room at that point, coming over to reclaim his seat next to Erik.

"So," Charles said, shifting until he was comfortable, "what did I miss?"

Erik loved seeing him so relaxed. "Oh, nothing much," he said, attempting nonchalance. "Alex here was just trying to convince me that we should break out my Wii."

He shot Alex a pointed glance and Alex swallowed quickly. "Charles, your title is in question."

"My…title?" Charles asked, giving Erik a confused look.

"Mario Kart," Sean announced. "Alex thinks he can finally beat you."

"Doubtful," Erik muttered.

Alex leaned forward, eyes intent on Charles. "So? What do you say, Charles?"

Charles abruptly grinned and said, "You're on."

* * *

An hour later, Erik's original opinion of the intrusion had done a complete 180. He hadn't seen Charles like this in a long time; it was like nothing had changed and he couldn't help the pleased smile that spread across his face as he watched Charles' character shoot across the finish line nearly a full lap ahead of the other two. Erik had chosen to sit this round out, content to lounge on the couch, his arms stretched behind his head. He was surprised to find that the cast didn't really inhibit Charles' playing ability. His smile faded slightly as he realized all of the everyday activities Charles would have had to learn how to do with his cast.

Charles let out a whoop and turned to grin at Erik, an infectious, happy grin that made Erik's own widen and his heart skip a beat. Alex groaned, sagging in his chair. "Damn it! I thought I had a chance this time, considering all the practice I've had."

"Should've known better than to challenge the King," Charles said teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Alex replied, waving a hand in the air dismissively. "I still managed to kick Sean's ass, though."

A pillow sailed through the air, hitting Alex square in the face and making the other three laugh. Sean said, "You cheat."

"Do not; you just suck at racing games."

"All right." Erik intervened before anything got broken. Again. _God, they were like five year olds sometimes._ "Act your age for five minutes and put your plates in the kitchen before you break something and I have to hurt you."

Grumbling, Alex and Sean did as they were told. Charles turned to him. "You okay, Erik? You sound upset."

"I'm fine; just trying to keep them from trashing my apartment like the last time they got drunk over here. Hopefully this time I won't have to force them into a cab." To take the sting out of the words—for Charles had flinched at the tone, if only a bit—Erik pulled him close, letting Charles slip under his arm, and kissed the top of his head.

When someone snorted knowingly from the direction of the kitchen, Erik fought his blush as he realized with dismay that he had just given his friends validation for their thinking he and Charles were back together. "You didn't drive here, did you?" he asked, to forestall their comments. No sense in allowing them more ammunition.

Sean flopped back into his seat. "Nope. Alex thought ahead, although I'm not sure our driver on the way here was all that thrilled about having to stop for beer and takeout on the way over."

"Sean, you didn't," Charles chastised.

"How else were we going to surprise you?"

Erik shook his head, sighing. "I wonder how you two manage to catch any murderers; especially when you act like this."

Alex chuckled. "So do we some days."

Sean pulled his phone out and said, "Ooh. Ah, actually, we probably should be going, Alex. Don't want to go into the station tomorrow with too bad of a hangover."

Alex groaned and Erik chuckled. Alex said, "Crud. And we've got paperwork to finish, too." With a sigh, Alex stood up and gathered up the empty beer bottles on the coffee table. While he dumped them in the trashcan, Sean got to his feet and put his coat on. "Sorry to dine and dash, Erik," Alex started.

Erik interrupted, "You're not. And, annoyed as I first was, it was fun." He got to his feet, planning to make sure they had a cab, when a hand grabbed his. He turned back, smiled down at Charles, and pulled him to his feet.

Sean came over and folded Charles into a hug. "Don't be such a stranger, okay?" He pulled back and raised an eyebrow.

Charles laughed a little and nodded. "I won't. Be careful on the way home, Sean."

Alex hugged him next, his grip a little tighter than Sean's. He said something in Charles' ear that Erik couldn't hear before pulling back. Charles glanced over at Erik then said, "I don't think you have to worry about that."

"Good." Alex clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Erik, my man, walk us to the elevator?"

"Am I calling you a cab or do you want to attempt to hail one?" Erik asked in a dry tone, but followed them to the door anyway, snatching his keys from the counter as he went.

"We'll catch one on the street." Alex shrugged into his coat and opened the door, waving at Charles before leading the way. Erik made sure the door was closed and locked behind him as they left. It wasn't far to the elevator from his apartment and, as they waited, Erik asked, "What did you say to Charles before we left, Alex?"

"What?" Alex replied with an innocent look.

Erik's eyes narrowed. "Alex…don't make me ask him."

He lifted a shoulder. "Nothing important."

Erik was fully prepared to argue with him when the elevator arrived. Sean stepped inside but Alex caught Erik's arm and told him seriously, "We don't care, you know. You two belong together; any idiot can see that. Seriously, as long as you're both happy…go for it, Erik." Then he stepped back and the door closed before Erik could think of a reply.

As he unlocked the door and stepped into the apartment, Charles greeted him from his spot on the couch with a hopeful smile, holding a controller out to him. Alex's parting words bouncing around in his head, Erik wondered if he was right. Did Charles want to get back together? Should he make the first move? With a sigh, Erik sat down and took the controller, a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth up as Charles set up another round of races.


	11. Chapter 11

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

**And now, without further ado, here is the moment you all have been waiting for (I hope) :) And, hopefully, it lives up to your expectations...**

* * *

"Is it the same? Or is it a different one every night?" Erik asked, curious.

Charles scrubbed a hand across his face wearily. He was heartily tired of nightmares; although if he continued to be woken up by Erik, it might be worth it. "Depends. Sometimes it's the same for a few nights; other times it's different."

"What was this one about?"

He sighed. Erik was determined to make him talk about them. Something about it making him feel better; he wasn't so sure about that. Reliving the nightmares led to reliving the actual events that led to having nightmares in the first place. "Something that happened last year." He tried to make it sound like it wasn't all that interesting, so he wouldn't have to talk about it, but wasn't sure he succeeded.

Erik was silent, just sitting there next to him, with his hand rubbing soothing circles on Charles' back. He felt like apologizing because he was sure the only reason Erik had woken was because he'd accidentally hit him while dreaming. After he'd broken Erik's lamp that first night, they shared the bed so Erik could wake him before the nightmares got too bad. Charles leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and dropping his face into his hands. Would these dreams never stop? He'd thought that once he got away…but he hadn't gotten away, had he? Jon found him, just like he always did. How long would it be until he found out Charles was at Erik's? Or did he already know? Was Jon already planning how to get to him?

"You need to think of something else, Charles," Erik interrupted his thoughts. "Something happier."

His voice muffled by his hands, Charles muttered, "Not a whole lot of that in my life lately."

Erik's hand on his back stopped but restarted after a moment. "Go back farther, then."

Farther? Nothing happy in his time with Jon, not now that he was looking back. God, why had he ever thought dating him was a good idea in the first place? _Focus, Charles._

Farther…happy moments…

Any time spent with Raven, of course. He loved his baby sister to death.

Farther…

He'd been unbelievably happy when he was dating Erik, that was for sure. Charles lowered his hands, thinking of all the adventures they'd had, of all of those stolen, sweet moments. A fond smile drifted across his face, tinged with nostalgia. His heart skipped a beat as he thought of how Erik came running when he needed him, even though he didn't have to, even after all this time. Fiddling with the covers, he cautiously said, "Erik…"

"Yes?"

"Do you…this is going to sound stupid, but…" He hesitated before asking in a rush, "Do you ever miss us?" Charles didn't look at Erik; couldn't. He didn't want to see the look on Erik's face, not yet.

"Us?" Erik's tone was carefully devoid of emotion.

"Us." Charles waved vaguely between them, despite the fact that there wasn't all that much space in which to do so, aware that he was almost surely blushing. Erik's hand on his back stopped its movement but stayed in place. "Like we used to be; before Jon." God, he was making a horrible mess of this whole thing.

Erik answered softly, "All the time."

Charles bit his lip and said in the same soft tone, "Me too."

Regret coloring his voice, Erik continued, "I miss us, and I regret breaking up with you. I regret that fight, all those those things we said. I hate that you moved to Michigan with Jon. Most of all," and here his voice cracked slightly, "I regret not going after you with every fiber of my being."

Charles' breath hitched but Erik kept going. "If I had…if I'd gone after you, you wouldn't have found out who he really was. You wouldn't have been stuck with an abusive boyfriend. You wouldn't have been hurt. We would have been together and you would have been safe…and happy."

Charles was silent, unable to respond for a minute while he took in the words and the emotions behind them. The intensity of Erik's words had stunned him. Emma had been right—Erik was still in love with him. And Charles, despite those years with Jon, still loved Erik. And Alex...telling him that there was still a chance and to go for it.

Erik asked, "Do you remember why we broke up?"

Charles shook his head. "I don't know; I thought it was what you wanted, I suppose."

Erik said, surprised, "I thought it was what you wanted!"

Charles' head snapped up to look at him. "Wait, so then why _did_ we break up?"

Erik shrugged. "We said so many hurtful things, it was probably something that made us angry enough to want to avoid each other. We both said things in the heat of the moment that I can't clearly recall." After another minute, in which Charles' mind furiously tried to make sense of what he was learning, Erik tentatively asked, "Was Jon like this from the start?"

Charles shook his head. God, if he had been, Charles would have come right back to Erik. "No…that didn't start til we'd been in Michigan a couple years." He'd been angry enough at Erik—for what he didn't know and didn't really care anymore—to try to make the move worth it; to make him and Jon work out, no matter what.

When Erik didn't say anything, Charles sighed and dropped his head onto Erik's shoulder, staring at the ceiling. "I didn't realize it at first, but Jon hated it whenever I brought up your name, or Alex's, or Sean's. He tried to hide his feelings, I think, because I never noticed. I forget exactly what I said, but I think it was about something Raven had said when she called me. She said something about you and I brought it up. He lost it." He shook his head, remembering his shock and fear when the Jon he knew had suddenly transformed into this terrifying person. "That was when it started, when my focus became survival."

"Why didn't you come back? Why didn't you tell Raven, at least?"

Giving a one-shouldered shrug, he responded, "Pride, I suppose. I couldn't just up and leave, announcing that Jon was "the one" and then come crawling back because I couldn't handle his temper. Of course, it just escalated from there. I'm not sure I can really pinpoint the moment I realized he just wanted to control me; the moment any feelings I'd had for him vanished."

Erik's arms came around him as he shuddered a bit at the flash of memory. Erik said softly, "The spark between us is still there, Charles. Can't you feel it?"

Very softly, his voice barely audible, Charles breathed, "Yes." His mind flashed back to the bar. He remembered what Emma had told him, how he felt when his eyes met Erik's.

The bed groaned as Erik shifted, pulling away. Before he could say anything, Charles felt Erik's fingers under his chin, tilting his head up and over. Their eyes met and Charles saw that Erik's were dark with emotion. His heart thumped loudly as Erik leaned in very slowly, dropping his hand. With a start, Charles realized that he was giving him every opportunity to turn away and, just as quickly, he decided he didn't want to. He wanted this.

Erik's lips brushed lightly against his and Charles responded by leaning forward. It was short, but it was enough to let them know the desire was there. Erik pulled away first and Charles was sure that Erik could see how he felt in his eyes. Erik smiled and Charles couldn't help but lean in and kiss him again, Erik's fingers tangling in his hair as their bodies pressed together. This felt right, more right than anything in the past seven years. And Charles wanted more of it, more of Erik and his searing kisses.

* * *

"I'm not answering that," Charles said, turning a page in his book. Erik sighed as the phone rang again. Why he'd thought having a landline was a good thing, he wasn't sure anymore. Probably Raven's idea.

"And if it's for you?" Erik retorted, reaching over and taking Charles' book out of his hands. After all, Raven did call every couple of days when they didn't.

Charles sat up from where he was laying on the couch, his head in Erik's lap. "Hey!"

Erik just grinned and got to his feet. He took the book with him into the kitchen as he answered the phone, setting the book on the counter. "Hello, Lensherr residence."

"Oh, very professional," Charles teased as he followed Erik into the kitchen.

"Oh, shut up."

"Hi, Erik!" a very cheerful female voice said. Speak of the devil.

When Erik sighed, Charles turned to look at him over the rim of the refrigerator door. He covered the speaker and said, "It's your sister."

Charles nodded. "Go on; she'll want to reassure herself that I'm all right. Especially since I forgot to call her two days running," and he rolled his eyes and closed the fridge, heading for the cupboard for a cup. Erik smiled to see him so at home here.

"Erik!" She sounded more pissed than worried. "Erik, don't answer and then ignore me!"

"I'm not ignoring you, Ray," he finally answered her. "I was telling Charles who was on the phone."

"Oh."

"So what did you want?" he prompted.

"How is he?" was her immediate response.

"He's fine, Raven," he answered patiently.

"How's his wrist?"

Erik watched Charles move cups around with his right hand, searching for the one he wanted—Charles already had a favorite and Erik made sure it was always available—and answered, "Healing wonderfully. And, before you ask, yes. I'm sure. I _am_ a doctor."

Raven huffed. "Any other injuries?"

"No."

"Nightmares?"

Erik wondered if she had a checklist that she was going through. "Some, but I don't let them get too far before I wake him."

"How?"

"What do you mean, how?"

"I mean, how do you know he's having a nightmare? I hardly ever knew."

_Shit._ He ran his free hand through his hair and reluctantly told her, "Because we share the bed, Raven. He sleeps better having me near and I sleep better knowing I can comfort him."

Raven was silent for a moment. "And he's happy?"

Now Erik was sure. Alex had said something to her. "You doubt?"

"Of course not! It's just…well, Alex called me the other day—"_ I knew it._ "And he said that you two were practically inseparable and, well…" her voice trailed off.

"Yes, Raven. _We're_ happy." He knew she would catch the emphasis and he was rewarded by a squeal in his ear so high-pitched he was sure dolphins could hear it. He pulled the phone away from his ear with a grimace.

Charles looked over from where he stood at the counter, his glass half-full of lemonade. He raised an eyebrow, a question on his face. Erik said wryly, "She's happy for us."

He laughed. "I can hear."

Erik grinned at him, his eyes traveling down his boyfriend's body, thrilled to have him back. Raven finally stopped screaming and demanded to talk to her brother. He walked over and said, "She wants to talk to you." He handed over the phone.

Charles set the pitcher down and held the phone to his ear. "Hello, Raven, how are you?"

Erik slipped his arms around Charles' waist, resting his chin on the other man's shoulder. "Yes, I'm sure about this…No, you do not have to threaten him." Smiling to himself, Erik tugged Charles closer and kissed his neck. He felt smug as Charles' breath hitched halfway through his sentence.

Charles tried to pull away, hissing, "Erik, stop that."

Erik pulled them both back from the counter, pulling Charles' back to his chest. He was careful, though, to make sure it was tight enough to hold him close, but loose enough that Charles could free himself if he truly wanted. He wasn't going to force Charles to do anything or make him feel trapped. Erik leaned forward a little farther, kissing Charles' cheek, but otherwise letting him answer his sister's next question without interference. "No, everything's fine. How was your meeting with the new client?"

Erik kissed his neck again, kissing all the way down to Charles' collarbone and back up. Charles abruptly interrupted his sister, "Raven, love, I'm going to have to call you back, if you don't mind."

Erik was close enough to the phone to hear her laugh and say knowingly, "Talk to you tomorrow, then, big brother. Have fun."

Charles hung up, setting the phone on the counter just as Erik spun him around. He pulled Charles close and kissed him soundly on the lips, Charles folding into him instantly. As he deepened the kiss, he faintly thought, _It can't get better than this_…


	12. Chapter 12

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

Erik was woken out of a deep sleep by a familiar buzzing sound. Yawning, he disentangled himself from Charles and rolled onto his side to grab his pager and shut it off. With a sigh, he rolled onto his back. They needed him at the hospital.

"Don't answer it," he heard Charles mumble sleepily next to him.

Erik chuckled. "Sorry, love, but I have to go." He sat up, the covers falling to his waist. He rubbed his face, ran a hand through his messy hair, and threw the blankets off, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Charles asked, "What time is it?" as Erik stood up.

Glancing at the clock, he groaned inwardly. "Little after four." He hurriedly got dressed, waking up more as he moved. Erik sat on the edge of the bed to put his shoes on and noticed with amusement that Charles had rolled over into the space Erik had recently vacated. He leaned over and kissed him. "I'll be back soon. Go back to sleep, Charles."

With a nod and a yawn, Charles pulled the covers up to his shoulders. "Good luck with the operation. Love you."

Erik smiled down at him and bent over to kiss him again. "Love you, too." Then, reluctantly, he grabbed his phone and pager from the nightstand and left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Someone knocked on the door. Charles shifted, in the place between sleep and wakefulness, and figured it was in his dream. Rolling over, he tried to reenter his dream. When the knock came again, he realized he was awake. With a low groan, he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Who the hell could be knocking on the door at—he glanced at Erik's clock—4:37 in the morning_? It's not Erik; he's got a key. And if he didn't, he'd call me instead of knocking and hoping I woke up._

Fighting with himself for a minute—hearing another knock—Charles got out of bed, intending to look through the peephole and reassure himself he was just hearing things before going back to bed. It could very well be some drunk neighbor locked out of their own apartment.

He padded down the carpeted hall in his bare feet, the bottoms of his dark blue flannel pajama pants brushing along the floor. Biting back a yawn, Charles flicked one of the lamps in the living room on so he wouldn't stumble over any furniture in the dark. Reaching the door, he put his hands against it and stood slightly on his tiptoes to peer out the peephole into the corridor.

And jumped backwards a few feet in shock. No, no no no no…This could not be happening. Not now; he couldn't…

"Let me in, Charlie!"

Charles squeezed his eyes shut, putting his hands over his ears. He wasn't hearing Jon's voice. Jon was not standing in the hall, pounding on the door. He was. Not. _Here._ He'd finally got his life back together. No, this cannot seriously be happening right now!

"Charles! I know you're there; let me in."

He opened his eyes and tried to focus. Erik. He had to call Erik. Where the hell was his cell phone?

The door bounced in its frame and Charles felt a spike of fear as he realized Jon was trying to break it down. Landline. Erik had a landline; they'd used it just a couple days ago to talk to Raven. The door bounced again as Charles raced into the kitchen and grabbed the cordless phone. How did Jon know Erik wasn't here?

He'd figure that out later. Right now, he had to call Erik. What was his number again? The door bounced and a crack appeared along the side. Charles ran down the hall, dialing Erik's cell phone, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He slid into the bedroom, listening to the phone ring, just as the sound of wood breaking reached him.

The door. Jon was in the apartment. Charles muttered, "Pick up, pick up, pick up," as he shut the door and leaned against it. Erik's voicemail message answered him and his heart sunk even more. Oh, god, he was probably in surgery. This would have to work. Hopefully, Erik got it soon.

Just as he drew breath to speak, the door moved against his back. "Charlie…"

In a frantic voice, Charles said, "Erik, he's here. Jon. He's in the apartment, please, you have to get this soon—"

Jon interrupted him, "Stop being such a coward and get out here." He shoved the door and Charles stumbled further into the room, Jon entering behind him.

He cried out, "Hurry!" before Jon managed to catch him, making him drop the phone on the floor. He struggled to free his arm. "Let go of me!"

But Jon was stronger and he knew it. Charles still fought him, though, desperate to free himself. He latched onto the gap between the door and the wall, but Jon gave a forceful tug and Charles shot forward, slamming into the wall. A couple picture frames hit the floor and he heard glass shatter on at least one of them.

Jon grabbed his arm again and started down the hall. Charles slid across the carpet as he tried to stop, feeling the material burn his bare feet. They reached the living room and Charles grabbed onto any piece of furniture that had the potential to stop the inexorable slide forward.

Jon turned and glared at him. "Stop fighting me or it'll get worse."

"Let me go." He stumbled forward again, hitting one of the end tables and sending a lamp crashing to the floor along with whatever else was on it.

"Don't do this," he pleaded. Jon ignored him. Then Charles saw the door was swinging off its hinges. Hope bloomed in his chest, fragile though it was. If he could alert one of the neighbors…"Hel—"

A hand covered his mouth mid-word. Jon's eyes narrowed, anger and a sick sort of pleasure flashing in them. "Don't even think about it. We're leaving. I'm gonna enjoy breaking your spirit again; it was so much fun the first time."

Charles pulled his arm free, started to step back, and felt something prick his neck. His vision faded at the edges and then the world went completely black.

* * *

**Did you really think Jon was just going to give up? (insert evil laugh here)**

**Also, sorry it's shorter than the previous couple chapters, but it's also getting near the end.**


	13. Chapter 13

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

Two and a half hours. Two and a half hours in surgery to keep this man alive. Erik pushed open the door to the break room, exhausted. Poor guy. Swiping a hand across his forehead, he opened his locker and pulled out his clothes, changing out of the scrubs. Then he checked his phone and saw he had a voicemail from Charles. With a shrug, he played it. When the time of the call was announced, Erik was surprised to learn it wasn't all that long after he'd left. "Miss me that much, Charles?" he muttered to himself with a smile.

Charles' frantic voice seemed to fill the whole room and Erik froze, the smile gone. "Erik, he's here. Jon. He's in the apartment, please, you have to get this soon—"

His voice was cut off by someone else, presumably Jon, but Erik couldn't hear what was said. Charles only cried out, "Hurry!" before the line went dead.

What he'd heard finally sank in a few seconds later. Erik grabbed his jacket and practically flew out of the hospital to his car. He was pretty sure he broke several traffic laws on his way home, but seeing as it was nearly 6:30am, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except Charles.

Panic-stricken, Erik didn't even bother waiting for the elevator; his adrenaline level was too high to stand still. The stairwell door banged open against the wall and he ran, whipping around the corner only to come to a halt at the light coming from an open apartment.

Filled with dread, Erik forced his legs to move. His front door hung off its hinges. _No, please no._ _I can't have failed him, not again._ He stopped just inside the doorway and swallowed hard. The living room was a disaster.

Books, magazines, coasters, anything he had had sitting on the coffee table or end tables was on the floor. One of his lamps lay in pieces. An end table was on its side. "Charles?" he called out, hoping he wasn't too late, yet knowing he was.

When no one answered him, Erik picked his way through the mess to the hall. Shattered glass and frames met him halfway down. The bedroom door was half open and Erik put a hand on it, slowly pushing it the rest of the way. The room was much the same as he'd left it…except for the empty bed. And the phone lying on the floor, a faint dial tone emanating from it.

Something broke in him and he sunk to his knees. He had promised Charles he would keep him safe. He had _promised._ And Jon found him…took him.

Unsure how long he'd been kneeling there, Erik managed to pull himself together. He would keep his promise, in any way he could. And right now, that meant rescuing him. Erik got to his feet and pulled his cell phone out.

Three rings later, a sleepy voice mumbled, " 'Lo?"

"Alex? I need you to come over. Now."

"Erik? Wha's goin' on?"

Erik bent over and picked up one of the pictures on the floor—it was of him and Charles, playing video games. Sean must have taken it and given it to Charles.

"_Erik._"

Erik snapped back into the present. "Jon's kidnapped Charles."

"I'll be right there." Alex sounded wide awake now.

Erik lowered his phone slowly, staring at the photo. Then he lifted his head, swallowing hard, and caught a glimpse of another photo, of him, Charles and Raven, from before. With a start, he realized he needed to call Raven. It was something to keep him from folding in on himself, anyway, so he moved to the living room as the phone rang.

Raven sounded even sleepier than Alex did, if that were possible. She also sounded rather irritated as she mumbled, "What."

"Ray, I have some bad news."

He heard her yawn. "Who is this?"

Despite himself, Erik smiled faintly. "Erik. It's Erik, Ray."

"Oh, Erik." Raven's voice was clearer. "Okay. So…the bad news would be…?"

Erik's voice cracked as he told her, "I failed."

"Failed what, Erik?" Raven responded, annoyed. "It's almost time for the sun to rise; I would like to get some more sleep before I have to get ready for work."

"Charles…He—Jon got him. I'm so sorry, Raven."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a good minute before she said, "Say that again?"

Erik admitted, "Jon found Charles; took him. I was at the hospital—emergency surgery. He—he must've come while I was gone."

"Please tell me this is some sort of sick joke," she said and yet her voice wavered.

"I wish I could."

"Okay." He heard her sniff. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Did you…did you call the police?"

"I called Alex. He's on his way."

"Good. Okay. Um, yeah. I'll see you soon."

He slid the phone into his pocket. He wanted to do something—like straighten up his living room—but knew Alex would want everything to stay as untouched as possible. So he just sat on the couch and waited.

* * *

Erik sat on the couch in shock, with his head in his hands, as people moved around him in a blur. Alex had shown up with Sean. They took one look at the mess and called for backup. Raven arrived shortly afterwards, saw the mess and promptly burst into tears. He'd given his statement to someone he didn't know, played the voicemail several times, was told to stay out of the way, and now had Charles' panicked voice on an unending repeat in his head.

Alex's voice jerked him back to the present. "..Scott for help." With a start, Erik remembered Alex's older brother, Scott, was a cop in Michigan somewhere.

He lowered his hands and looked up. "Alex, does Scott live anywhere near where Charles and—where Charles used to live?"

"Yeah. Can't believe I never asked him before, but they live in the same city."

Sean volunteered, "Probably in a different precinct."

"Scott will help find him?" Raven's voice was tearful and held a faint tone of hope.

Erik shook himself out of his apathy and got to his feet, striding across to where she stood by the window. He pulled her close, just as he'd done so often with Charles, and let her cry. Her whole body shook and he rubbed her back, mumbling vague reassurances that he was sure didn't reassure either of them.

Alex and Sean came over and Alex said, "We caught a break. Your building has security cameras, Erik, and someone spotted Jon on one of them. He was carrying Charles, put him in a car and drove off. Tech should be able to get a plate soon but until then we've got an APB out on the make, model, and color. Come on."

Erik stared at them, taking in all of the information. "What? Where are we going?"

Sean told him, "Michigan; let's go."

Raven pulled back from Erik's embrace and wiped her face. "Why?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Where else would Jon take him? They've got to wait for the plate to come back, but, come on, let's go. He's already got a couple hours' head start on us. If we drive fast enough, we can get there not long after they do."

The longer Alex talked, the more Erik realized he was right. There was no reason for Jon to stay in New York with Charles and every reason to take him back to Michigan. He nodded. "Right. I'm driving." They were a couple feet from the door when something occurred to Erik and he said, "Wait, I'll be right back."

He got weird looks but wound his way around the cops and techs to the bedroom where he grabbed a pair of Charles' jeans, a t-shirt, jacket and shoes. When he returned to his friends, he got even weirder looks and Sean said, "Dude, why?"

Erik answered, "Charles was wearing his pajamas when I last saw him and probably still is. Besides, it's nearly November out. He'll be freezing." And he wanted Charles to have something to wear that didn't remind him of Jon when they found him.

They made their way down to the parking garage, Erik threw the clothes in the trunk, and they all piled in. Erik slid into the driver's seat, Alex in the seat next to him, while Raven and Sean took the back. Erik glanced over at Alex as he drove out onto the street. "You're my cover if I get pulled over for driving over the speed limit."

Alex laughed a little. "Deal."

Erik found the first entrance onto the freeway heading west and gunned it, happy to be one of the few cars on the road at seven am. _Hang on, Charles. We're coming._


	14. Chapter 14

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

Charles slowly sat up, feeling groggy and woozy. He looked around, not quite sure where he was. He blinked a couple times, trying to break through the haze in his mind. His eyes scanned the room he was in, searching for something to let him know where he was. That was when he saw the dent in the wall by the closet and Charles' heart sank, his left hand unconsciously going to the back of his head. He remembered making that dent. He remembered the trip to the hospital and Raven's worry.

Then it all came rushing back. Jon had drugged him, somehow, and kidnapped him. He had to call Erik, get out of here.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, just then noticing that he was still in his pajamas, and dropped his head into his hands. _Oh thank god, nothing happened._ Charles looked around, hoping to spot a phone. Nothing. And his cell phone was back in Erik's apartment. He had to get in touch with him somehow, let Erik know where he was.

Jon probably had his cell phone on him, wherever he was, so there was no way for Charles to—landline. He let out a little huff of breath. _Of course_. There was a landline here, based in the kitchen. And Erik had made him memorize his cell number, in case Charles had to call from anywhere. Admittedly, this was probably not quite the situation they had envisioned when they talked about that, but whatever.

Charles got to his feet, only to sink right back down onto the bed as the room spun and tilted around him. "Okay," he muttered after a moment. "Let's try this again." This time the room spun only a little bit before steadying and he opened the bedroom door as quietly as possible, just in case Jon was still in the apartment.

He poked his head out into the hall and listened. Nothing. No sounds whatsoever. Good. It meant he was safe, for now. Charles slipped down the hall, automatically avoiding the noisy sections out of habit, until he reached the kitchen and grabbed the cordless phone off the counter. He dialed Erik's cell phone and waited, crossing the fingers of his right hand—finally free of his cast but weak—and praying.

On the second ring, Erik picked up. "Who the hell is this and why are you calling me?"

Charles sagged against the wall in relief, covering his eyes with his forearm. Tears filled his eyes. _Thank god._

"You have three seconds before I hang up," Erik demanded, sounding pissed.

"_Erik,_" Charles breathed, his voice sounding slightly strangled but full of relief. The sound of screeching tires reached him and he realized that Erik was driving. Hope sparked that maybe, just maybe, Erik was on his way here already. Maybe Raven had figured it out; she knew where the apartment was.

"_Charles._ Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Erik asked. There was a world of relief in his voice, along with concern.

Charles shook his head, forgetting that Erik couldn't see him. "No, no I'm all right, Erik."

"Where are you, Charles?" A new voice entered the conversation.

"Raven?" he breathed. He was grateful for the solidity of the counter behind him. His sister was there, too. "I'm—I'm at my old apartment. You remember where that is?"

"Yeah. I can direct Erik there." He heard the sound of the engine revving and realized they were driving again.

"Charles, is he there? Is Jon in the apartment with you?" Another new voice entered the conversation and Charles felt a little faint.

He turned to the living room, needing somewhere to sit. "Alex? Is there anyone else listening in that I should know about?"

Erik said, "Sorry about that, Charles. I've got you on speakerphone. Sean's here, as well."

Raven added, "We're about a half hour away, Charles."

"How are you that close?" He ignored the need to sit in order to find out what time it was. He pushed the curtain aside to look out the window and saw that the sun was up. It had clearly been up for several hours, judging by its position above the horizon. _How long was I out?_

Alex said, "Security cameras caught Jon carrying you out. Tech got the license plate and we sent out an APB. Sean and I figured he'd bring you back to Michigan so I called my brother and asked him to keep a lookout while we drove up. Charles, is there somewhere you can hide, somewhere that you can block the door so Jon can't get to you if he gets there before we do?"

Charles looked around, thinking. "Umm…the bedroom, probably. I can shove the dresser in front of the door."

"Good, do that. We'll be there as soon as we can," Alex told him.

"Okay."

"Stay strong, Charles. We're coming. I love you."

Charles smiled despite the circumstances, feeling his heart flutter in response. "I love you, too."

Erik told him one last time to stay strong and they hung up. Charles went back into the bedroom, proceeded to shove the dresser in front of the door and sat on the bed to wait, wishing he had something warmer to wear than a plain white t-shirt and pajama pants.

* * *

Charles heard the front door open and he was inches from pushing the dresser out of the way before he stopped himself. He backed up, telling himself, _No, that could just as easily be Jon as Erik._ Footsteps, heavy. Erik didn't wear anything that made that kind of sound but Jon liked to wear steel toed boots. That was bad. Charles backed up further. He watched the doorknob turn but thankfully the dresser held. For now.

"So you're awake, huh?" Jon sounded amused, of all things. Charles swallowed hard, the color draining from his face as he watched the door inch open, flashing back to Erik's apartment. Would this end the same way?

Jon was quiet as he worked to open the door, leaving Charles' fear to rise more and more. Then the door was open wide enough for Jon to slip through and face him.

Charles took a step back and hit the closet. He had trouble breathing as Jon advanced.

Jon lifted his hands, palm out, as if trying to calm him. "Don't worry, Charles. You're safe now."

"Safe?" Charles half-laughed, incredulous. "I'm never safe with you. I was safe with Erik and you ruined that."

Jon shook his head. "No, Erik only wants to control you. I was only trying to free you; and now I have."

"No. No, that's you," Charles retaliated, feeling a surge of anger that came out of nowhere. "You're the one trying to control me; you have been for years and I never noticed." His voice shook slightly and he tried to steady himself by repeating in his head that Erik was on his way, with help.

Jon shook his head again and Charles saw that flash of anger that he was so familiar with. "You don't know him like I do."

"You don't know Erik at all!"

Jon scowled, lowering his hands. "Then how did I know how to get him away from you?"

Charles gaped at him as the pieces slid together. Jon had to have been watching him—them—for days to plan everything. "You—you're the reason Erik got called in to the hospital?"

Jon smirked. "Do you know how long I had to wait for them to call him in? I thought I was going to have to resort to even more drastic measures."

Charles cried out, "You nearly killed someone just to get Erik out of the apartment!?"

Jon suddenly closed the distance between them, putting his hands on either side of Charles, effectively trapping him against the closet door. His voice was low, almost ominous. "I just want you, Charles, and I'm willing to do anything to have you."


	15. Chapter 15

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

**Oh my gods, you guys are just so fantastic! I get so many awesome reviews and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love you all so much! So, yeah. Last chapter before I disappear for the weekend...again. Haha, going up to Macinaw with the 'rents and sister. Anyway, time for the confrontation, hope you like it, it's a long chapter. If not, well, it's staying as is haha**

* * *

Erik's car squealed to a halt in front of an apartment building, the group noticing the dozen police officers milling around out front. The four of them got out and, after a minute, someone threaded their way through the group to join them.

"Lexi!" someone called cheerfully.

Alex groaned, face palming, as the cop grinned widely. "I told you not to call me that, Scott."

Scott's grin got wider, if possible. He came to a stop next to them, looped an arm around Alex's shoulders and gave him a noogie. He teased, "That's right; I forgot you hate that name, baby brother."

Alex shoved him away. "That's one of my best friends in there, Scotty. Lay off, okay?"

Scott sobered up in an instant. "Sorry, bro, I forgot that part. Who is it?"

Alex sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "It's Charles."

A look of surprise crossed Scott's face. "Wow, haven't heard that name in a while. Wait, that car you asked me to look out for—is it his?"

Erik spoke up. "No, it belongs to Charles' ex who kidnapped him."

Scott looked over, appraising him, and replied, "Explains why there're so many cops here. Kidnapping across state lines? Surprised the feds aren't involved." He stuck a hand out. "By the way, I'm Scott Summers, Alex's older brother."

Erik took it. "Erik Lensherr, current boyfriend. Under other circumstances, I'd say it's nice to meet you."

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Scott nudged Alex's arm. "You suck at intros, little bro."

Alex scowled again, rubbing his arm. "This is Sean Cassidy, my partner." They shook hands, cop to cop. "And this is Raven Xavier, Charles' little sister."

Scott smiled at her, lifting her hand to his lips to kiss it. "A pleasure to meet you."

Erik's eyes narrowed. Was this guy for real? They were in the middle of a rescue mission and he's flirting with Raven? Before he could step in, Scott had turned back to his brother.

"So, as far as I know, you guys are in charge since you know the target and the victim. You two," and he turned back to Erik and Raven, "are going to have to stay at the back of the group. Normally, we'd just say you couldn't come but I pulled some strings."

Erik nodded and felt Raven slip her hand into his. He squeezed it comfortingly. Now that they were here, he felt certain that everything was going to work out okay.

Another policeman came over, older and slightly overweight, and introduced himself as Chief O'Brady. They introduced themselves and he gave basically the same orders that Scott had, only these had the ring of authority to them rather than the air of an older brother.

Erik kept hold of Raven's hand as they followed the police into the building. Truth be told, they both needed the contact, the reassurance it gave them—that they weren't alone in their concern. He could hear her fighting tears as they headed up the stairs.

* * *

Alex and Sean took up positions on opposite sides of the door to Jon's apartment, the rest of the cops stacked up behind them. Erik and Raven stood at the end of the hall, where they could just barely see their friends. Guns were drawn, but aimed at the ground at the moment, and Alex lifted a hand, three fingers raised. He made eye contact with all the officers, making sure they saw. He lowered one finger at a time until he hit zero. Sean stepped forward and kicked the door in. He and Alex led the raid, guns up at chest height and ready to fire if needed.

It was a couple tense minutes before Alex poked his head back out the door and waved them in. Erik approached the door with trepidation. Did this mean that Charles wasn't here? Did something happen to him? Raven's hand tightened around his and he knew she was having similar thoughts. He stepped inside, saw the cops spread out and his heart sank. Where was Charles?

An officer snapped his fingers, getting everyone's attention. He was at the end of the hall and, when he saw them looking, he pointed at a door. Alex nodded and hurried towards him, Sean and Scott on his tail. Erik shoved his way behind them, Raven in tow.

The door was open a couple feet and he could just make out the edge of a bed. Just then they heard a muffled cry followed by the squeak of a mattress. Sean kicked the door. When it didn't move, Sean glanced at Alex. As one, they rammed their shoulders into it. It opened fully on their second try, Erik only just then appreciating the partnership that allowed them to communicate without words. Alex, Sean, and Scott burst into the room, Erik and Raven on their heels. The five of them stopped abruptly at the sight that greeted them.

Charles lay on the bed, Jon straddling him, kissing him. Charles' arms were pinned over his head and he was squirming, trying to get free. Erik started forward, briefly blinded by anger, only to stop when something hit his chest. Blinking, he glanced to his right.

It was Sean's arm blocking him from going and throwing Jon off Charles. Sean said quietly, "Let Alex handle this."

That was when Jon noticed them and glared at them. Charles gasped for breath, pulling at the grip on his wrists. Aiming his gun at Jon, Alex ordered, "Let him go and get off the bed."

Jon raised an eyebrow, smirking. His gaze traveled across the five of them, darting back to Erik's before his smirk widened and he bent over to kiss Charles again. Charles gave a muffled squeak and Erik tensed. He desperately wanted to beat the shit out of this man.

Alex repeated, "Jon Curtis, get off the bed. You are under arrest for kidnapping, assault, domestic abuse and whatever the hell else I feel like charging you with!"

Jon straightened and laughed. "You have no jurisdiction here. You're an NYPD cop!"

Scott stepped around Erik. _Damn, forgot he was here._ "But I do. DPD Detective Scott Summers. Jon Curtis, you're under arrest for everything my brother just said."

Jon seemed to realize he wasn't going to win this. Alex cocked his gun, taking a step forward. Before anyone realized it, Jon had jumped off the bed—and Charles—and bolted for the window…and the fire escape beyond it.

Thankfully, it appeared the window hadn't been opened in a while and Jon's struggle allowed Alex to tackle him. Confident that his friend had it under control, Erik knocked Sean's arm aside and rushed over to the bed. Charles had sat up and was swinging his legs over the side by the time Erik reached him. Erik reached out, grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. Once Erik had him there in front of him, he cupped his boyfriend's face and kissed him, pouring all of his love and relief into it.

Charles responded after a moment, grabbing onto Erik's jacket with a death grip. Erik broke the kiss, reached up to wipe Charles' tears away with his thumbs, and then crushed the man to his chest. Charles buried his face in Erik's jacket, shaking. Erik kept an arm around him and put his other hand on the back of Charles' head, burying his own face in Charles' shoulder. _He's all right, he's all right_ played on repeat in Erik's head.

Jon shouted something unintelligible from across the room, making Erik look up. Charles' grip tightened, if possible. Alex and Sean escorted Jon out of the room and Erik said softly, "I'm here, Charles. I'm right here; you're safe now," as Charles sobbed into his chest. Erik couldn't begin to imagine what might have happened if they hadn't arrived when they did. "You're safe, love. I promise."

When Charles' shaking finally started to ease, Raven said in a hesitant voice, "Charles?"

Charles pulled back from Erik just enough to see who had said his name. When he saw his sister, he let out a strangled half-laugh and reached for her. Erik let go and Raven hugged him tight, Charles returning it. A small smile crossed Erik's lips at the siblings.

O'Brady entered the room, glanced over at the siblings and walked over to Erik's side. He kept his voice low as he said gently, "He will have to come down to the station to give a statement." He looked over at Raven and added, "Actually, all of you will. And we'll have a paramedic look at him while we're there."

Erik nodded. "I'll make sure he gets there." O'Brady nodded and left.

Charles pulled back from Raven, wiping his eyes with the palms of his hands. Raven asked, "Are you okay? Did Jon manage to…?" Her voice trailed off, unable to finish the thought. Erik clenched his fists. If Jon had done anything, not even the police would stop him from beating him to within an inch of his life.

Charles' voice snapped him out of his thoughts as he shook his head rapidly. "No, no, he never got that far." His voice shook considerably. Erik reached out, plucking him from Raven's embrace and into his. Erik kissed the top of his head and said softly, "I love you. You're safe. I've got you."

Alex and Sean came back into the room then, Sean informing them that "Jon should be on his way to the station in the back of a cop car."

Alex asked, "Charles? You okay?"

Charles nodded, his face buried in Erik's jacket. They exchanged worried glances over his head and Erik said, "Perhaps we should move somewhere a little less…traumatizing?"

They made their way out to the living room where Charles seemed to relax. O'Brady saw them and came over again. He talked briefly with Alex and Sean before leaving. Alex then told the others, "Scott and Officer Watson just left with Jon."

Charles' head snapped up, fear flashing across his face. Raven leaned around Alex and asked, "Charles, what is it?"

He shook his head, his breath coming in short bursts. Erik said, "Charles, love, we can't help if we don't know what's wrong."

Charles opened his mouth only to close it and shake his head again. He swallowed, finally forcing out, "It's him."

"Him who? What about him? Scott?" Alex demanded.

Charles pressed up against Erik's side, seeking comfort. "Watson. H—he's Jon's stepbrother."

Raven gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. "Oh my god. _That's_ why nothing ever came out of all of those phone calls from the hospital! He got rid of them! For his brother. Ugh, what a bastard!"

Alex yanked out his cell phone, worry in his eyes and tone. "Scott doesn't know he's riding with a traitor. Oh god, please, Scott, answer your freaking phone." He strode to the window, running a hand through his hair as he tried to get ahold of his brother. "Scott! Thank god. Look, whatever happens, do not react. Got it?...Okay, Charles says Officer Watson is Jon's stepbrother and has been destroying whatever reports he or Raven have made against Jon. You can't trust him; for all we know, he might try to free his brother." He turned around, giving the others a thumbs-up. "Great. See you soon, bro."

Returning to them, Alex informed them, "Scott'll keep an eye on him."

"Good," Raven said, her dark eyes flashing.

Charles looked around at them all, smiling slightly as he met Erik's gaze, and said, "_Thank you._ All of you. If you hadn't come, if you hadn't been so close already…"

Erik kissed his forehead. "Don't worry about that. We're here; you're safe. And Jon's going away for a really long time. It's over."

Sean interjected, "Ah, not quite yet." Erik raised an eyebrow and he quickly added, "We still have to go in and give our statements."

_Damn it, did they really have to do that now?_ With a sigh, Erik nodded and they made their way through the remaining policemen and out to his car. When Charles refused to let go of him—and Erik didn't blame him, to be honest, because he didn't particularly want to let go of him, either—they slid into the back and he let Alex drive. He didn't trust Sean or Raven with his car. Besides, Alex knew the way to the station.


	16. Chapter 16

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

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**Totally just realized I haven't updated in a week. Oops, sorry guys. There's only a couple chapters left, but I spent the past weekend in Mackinac and it was fantastic! Anyway, here is the next chapter!**

* * *

Charles sat in the hall, in an extremely uncomfortable black plastic chair, his foot tapping erratically against the white tile floor. His hands folded and unfolded in his lap as he waited. A hand settled across his and they stilled. He looked over to his left and met Erik's reassuring gaze.

"Relax, love. It's going to be all right. They need to know what happened so they can make sure Jon's locked away for a good long while."

Charles bit his lip. "You'll come with me, won't you?"

Erik shook his head. "I've already asked. O'Brady says it has to be one at a time." Charles' face fell and Erik quickly added, "I've already gone, but I'll be right out here when you finish."

The door opened from the right with a squeak that made him jump. A thirty-something brunette in a pantsuit walked out, a clipboard in her hands. She stopped in front of them, glanced down at the clipboard, and asked, unsure, "Charles Xavier?"

"Yes?" His voice shook a little as he looked up.

She smiled down at him, clearly trying for comforting but it wasn't working. "They're ready for you now."

He turned back to Erik, afraid to leave. He didn't know who would be in the interrogation room and he really, really didn't want to leave Erik. Erik squeezed his hand. "Faster you do it, sooner you're back," Erik told him with a quick smile.

Taking a deep breath, Charles stood up. The woman opened the door and stood there holding it for him. He stopped just before it and looked once more at his boyfriend. _You can do this,_ he thought to himself. He closed his eyes, took another deep breath, and stepped inside. The door closed behind him with another loud squeak.

* * *

Charles almost stepped back out again at the sight of two unfamiliar police officers sitting at the table waiting for him. That woman stood behind him, though, so he forced his feet to keep going. The officers looked up as he approached the table and one of them gestured at the lone chair across from them. It was the same sort of chair he'd just vacated.

"Have a seat, Charles. Make yourself comfortable." As he reluctantly sat down—silently freaking out—they introduced themselves as Lieutenant Jones and Sergeant Lopez.

Sergeant Lopez said, "Take us through what happened. We know you were in New York City but we don't know how you came to be here." Lieutenant Jones held a pen over a legal pad, ready to write down whatever Charles said next.

Charles took a shaky breath and looked down, shoving his hands in between his legs. He couldn't look at the cops as he slowly told them about Jon finding him and Raven; how he'd ended up staying at Erik's; how Jon found him there, and made it all the way through waking up and calling Erik and then Jon returned—his voice completely broke at that point and the tears he'd been holding back started to fall.

Lopez and Jones exchanged glances and Jones repeated what Charles had just said, as if trying to restart his train of thought. He couldn't, though. He didn't want to think about what happened after he heard Jon come back.

Jones tried again. "Charles, we need you to tell us what happened between the call and when the police arrived on the scene."

Charles shook his head, wrapping his arms tightly around his stomach. He squeezed his eyes shut only to open them again when all he could see was Jon's face. Abruptly, he announced, "I want Erik."

Lopez said gently, "I'm sorry, son. We can't do that. He's already given his statement."

"No, no I'm not continuing without him," Charles' voice was on the edge of breaking again, containing a slight hint of hysteria.

Their heads bent together as he wished he was in a chair that he could curl up in and not feel besieged. Lopez went over to the brunette by the door as Jones leaned back in his seat, looking resigned. Charles heard the squeak of the door, then Lopez's voice as he called, "Erik Lensherr? Can you come in here?"

* * *

Erik hated waiting. He especially hated waiting when he had no idea what was happening to his boyfriend in the other room. He found himself pacing, trying to pass the time. He had no clue how much time had passed before he heard the squeak of the door and whirled around. Was Charles done? A police officer stepped out into the hall instead. _Oh no._

"Erik Lensherr? Can you come in here?" Erik hesitated for the briefest of moments before hurrying down the hall and through the door, past the cop.

Once inside, he saw Charles hugging himself and crying and demanded, "What did you do to him?"

The one at the table sighed. "He refuses to continue without you present."

Erik scowled at them. He grabbed a chair from the stack against a wall and set it next to Charles, sitting close enough for them to touch. He reached out, put the tips of his fingers under Charles' chin and turned him to face Erik. "Oh, Charles," Erik whispered, brushing away tears with his thumbs.

"Erik?" Charles sniffed. "Erik, I can't…I can't go through it again."

"Shh, I know; it's hard." Erik kissed his forehead. "But they really need to know."

Sounding choked, Charles replied, "I can't…please."

Closing his eyes briefly against the pain in his lover's voice, Erik maneuvered them so he could pull Charles against his chest. "I know you're scared, and I know it hurts. But I also know that you're stronger than you think you are and you can do this. I'll be right here; I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"Promise. And as soon as we finish, we'll get out of here, okay?"

Charles nodded and said softly, "Okay." He wiped his face with his sleeve—grateful that Erik had brought him a change of clothes—and turned back to the cops. It took a while, Charles having to stop every now and then, but the whole story finally made it into the open. Even the parts of it that Erik hadn't known about and he had to fight to remain calm and steady for Charles.

When he finished, Erik got to his feet and pulled Charles up with him. The Hispanic-looking officer said, "Hang on a minute. Just need some clarification on—"

Erik immediately snapped, "No. He's been through enough. And you have what you need; that bastard had better rot in jail for the rest of his life. We're going home, now."

At the door, he asked the brunette where their friends were and she gave him directions. He was a little surprised that the cops let them walk out, especially after his tone, but they started down the hall to the right, Charles holding his hand tightly.

There were only a couple of corners left when Charles suddenly gasped, "Wait."

Erik stopped them both. "What's wrong?"

He said breathily, "I'm gonna be sick," and clapped a hand over his mouth.

Erik looked around frantically, and spotted the familiar sign just down the hall. He practically dragged Charles into the nearest men's room where he stumbled into a stall and dropped to his knees in front of the toilet. Erik turned away as he promptly threw up everything in his stomach and secretly hoped that the last of the drug left Charles' system with the vomit.

* * *

Charles' throat burned from throwing up and he flushed the toilet before using it to lever himself to his feet. A hand slid under his elbow to help him and he thought gratefully, _Erik._ He went over to the double sink and put his hands palm down on the counter, his head lowered. Erik's hand slid to his lower back, rubbing soothing circles as he tried to get his breathing under control.

He sniffed and turned the water on, capturing some of it in his hands and throwing it in his face. It washed away the lingering tearstains and he did it again, calming down as he did so, washing away more than just tears. When he lowered his hands a third time, Charles instead cupped some water and rinsed his mouth out a couple times. Erik handed him a paper towel and he dried his face and hands, turning the faucet off and turning around.

"Better?" Erik asked sympathetically.

Charles nodded. "A little." Erik pulled him close and Charles happily snuggled into him, breathing in the familiar peppermint-leather scent of his boyfriend, letting it wash away the last traces of the past few hours. He felt shaky, like his legs weren't going to hold him up much longer. Sounding petulant, and knowing it, he asked, "Can we go home now?"

Erik laughed softly and kissed the top of his head. "Let's get your sister and the guys first. Then we'll go home."


	17. Chapter 17

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

Raven felt like punching something, preferably that spawn of Satan that hurt her brother. Alex and Sean watched her as she paced back and forth in the tiny waiting room. What was taking so long?

Alex sighed. "Raven, would you _please_ sit down? You're making me dizzy."

She glared at him then abruptly plopped down into the nearest chair, her glare dissipating as she sighed, too. "Where are they? Should it really take this long?"

"Relax; they're probably in a closet somewhere, making out." Sean grinned at his friends from where he lounged in his chair, feet propped up on the nearest stack. He had his cell phone out and was playing Candy Crush on it.

"In a police station?" Raven retorted incredulously.

Alex told her, "Charles has more to tell than we did. And it's harder for him to say it. Give him time."

That was when the door opened and the two lovers walked in. Raven was on her feet in an instant, throwing her arms around her brother with a surprising surge of tears. She was briefly aware of the guys pulling Erik aside and she tried to eavesdrop while asking Charles, "Everything all right?"

He nodded as she heard Erik say in an undertone, "I'm not sure. He couldn't finish, asked for me to come in."

"I'm okay, Ray." Charles managed the smallest smile she'd ever seen from him. She frowned, doubting.

Alex replied, "Wait, you weren't with him the whole time?"

"No." Erik sounded shocked and Charles rubbed his eyes. Raven hugged him again, glancing over his shoulder at the guys. Sean looked pissed and Alex looked murderous, much like she had earlier. "I wasn't allowed in with him at all. Not til he asked."

"They're not supposed to do that!" Sean angrily said.

Charles pulled back from her, flinching. He turned to them, reaching out for Erik's hand. Her heart caught as Erik automatically took it and pulled Charles against his side without looking away from Alex. It was such a simple movement, but it told her so much about them. She smiled to herself, happy that Charles had allowed himself to find happiness again with Erik.

Alex ran his hand through his hair. "We would never make someone go through that alone, not without someone they know and trust with them." He swore. "At least, that's how we do it in New York." He sighed. "Where's Scott when you need him?"

"Right here, baby bro." Scott stood in the open doorway, arms crossed and a teasing smile on his face.

Alex scowled at him. "Why weren't you taking Charles' statement?"

"Because I was interrogating Watson," Scott retorted, coming into the room. He glanced at her brother and his voice softened. "How you doing, Charles?"

It was clear to Raven that her brother did not want to talk, but he said very quietly, "Fine. Can we go?" Erik wrapped both arms around him from behind, kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, I just thought you should know why we never knew what was going on." Scott's eyes flashed with something Raven couldn't identify before it disappeared. "Watson apparently knew full well what his stepbrother was doing. He'd done it before; turning a blind eye so that Jon didn't get into trouble. Jon's his only family and he thought that this was what brothers did. I set him straight on _that_ score." He and Alex shared a quick smile. "He'll testify on Charles' behalf and then he's done being a cop.

"Anyway, Jon had asked him to make sure your name never made it into our system. When I put out the APB on his brother's car, he realized what a mess he had made of things and tried to fix it. That's why he volunteered to come back to the precinct with me and Jon."

His revelations met with silence and then Erik said quietly, "Thank you, Scott. It's good to know his reasons for it, but, more importantly, that he's going to help us."

Scott nodded. "One more question for Charles, though, and then I promise you can leave."

Charles turned to look at him and Scott asked, "How did Jon know that you were alone in the apartment?"

What little color had come back into his face drained right back out again at the question. Raven's fingers twitched, wanting to protect her big brother from everything that could hurt him. She'd always been the stronger sibling and she wished she could have helped before now.

Very quietly, Charles informed them all, "Jon sent someone to the emergency room. He knew Erik would get called in for the surgery and waited til he left."

Sean snarled, "I'm going to kill him."

Erik retorted, "Get in line. He's mine. The instant he gets out of prison I'm going to beat him to within an inch of his life."

"Erik," Charles said, chiding. Erik kissed him and Raven couldn't help but laugh a little.

All eyes turned to her, Alex asking, "What's so funny?"

She said, "Well, a) there's quite a line to beat the shit out of Jon; and b) as weird as it is, Charles, you and Erik are just seriously adorable together." Charles blushed, ducking his head. Erik grinned and tilted his chin up to kiss him again.

Scott groaned. "All right, I'm leaving. You're all free to go. Lexi, stay in touch this time, all right? No more disappearing on me."

Alex sighed. "I _hate_ that name, Scott."

He grinned. "I know."

"But...I promise to call more. You could visit, too, you know." Alex gave his brother a quick hug.

"Yeah," Scott shrugged, mussed Alex's hair, waved to them all and left.

They stayed in the room for a couple more minutes before deciding, as a group, that they seriously needed to relax. Sean brought up drinking, Alex mentioned a bar he knew Scott frequented, and the Xaviers and Erik gave in. Everyone needed to forget what happened, if only for a night. After that, they would go back to New York and their lives, helping Charles start over in a new city.


	18. Chapter 18

**This is rated M for references to physical/emotional abuse and brief mention of rape in future chapters.**

* * *

**So, this is officially the last chapter. To all of you who followed the story from the start or joined in at some point, thank you. And for all of you who reviewed, seriously-it made posting my writing worth it. I have a couple other ideas in the works, but it could take some time, what with school/work/and the fact that I don't publish unless it's finished (I don't want to be one of those writers who doesn't finish or update because they don't know what to write)**

**Anyway, love you all, especially those who reviewed, like, every chapter (you know who you are 3) and I hope the ending doesn't disappoint. :)**

* * *

The days after the group returned to New York were hard, on all of them. They all worried about Charles' recovery, all of them finding some excuse to stop by Erik's apartment. Erik had taken the next couple weeks off to stay with Charles until he felt well enough to be alone in the apartment again, although Erik was seriously considering moving so the memory of Jon breaking in wouldn't always hang over them. The problem with that was finding one. Finding an affordable, available apartment on short notice in New York was difficult, to say the least.

Erik was also surprised at how his coworkers stepped in to cover his shifts for him so he only had to use a few vacation days. He was exhausted, being woken up at all hours of the night to wake Charles from a nightmare and comfort him. Charles was terrified to be alone, hated being touched by anyone but Erik and occasionally Raven.

It took a while, but slowly Charles began to move on from what happened. Erik started to see the walls crack and the old Charles come out. He very carefully did not make a huge deal out of it, knowing Charles would just disappear inside his shell again.

Then came the inevitable. His hospital pager went off one afternoon about two and a half weeks after their return to New York. He and Charles were on the couch, Charles laying with his head in Erik's lap as they watched something on TV. Erik had one arm draped across Charles' chest, the other hand tangled in the brown locks of hair. Charles had linked his fingers with the hand across his chest, the other lay flat on the couch. Erik smiled down at him, happy to see him finally fully relaxed, and Charles gave him a small smile back.

Erik couldn't help it. He leaned down and kissed his boyfriend. Charles' smile widened as their lips touched and then he heard the oh, so familiar _bzzzzzztt_. Erik pulled away with a sigh.

Charles said quietly, "Can you ignore it?"

His mouth twisted wryly. "Sorry, love. I have to answer it at least." Charles lowered his eyes, his hand tightening on Erik's. Reluctantly, Erik disentangled himself from Charles and walked over to grab his phone off the counter and call the hospital.

Charles sat up and turned to watch him, pulling his knees into his chest and resting his chin on them. Erik ran a hand through his hair when he heard that he was needed to perform a surgery that only one other doctor could do with any success. Unfortunately, that other doctor happened to be in the middle of performing another surgery and wouldn't make it in time to save the young man in question. With a sound that was half sigh, half groan, Erik let them know he would be there as soon as he could.

Hanging up, he turned to Charles and said, "I have to go in. No one else can do the surgery."

Charles' eyes dropped to the floor and they were both silent for a minute. An idea hit him and Erik asked, "Do you want to come with me?"

Charles' gaze snapped to his. "To…to the hospital?"

"Yeah. You wanna?"

He blinked a couple times. "I…yeah, okay."

* * *

They walked into the emergency room hand in hand and Erik was relieved to see it relatively empty. Charles still wasn't all that good with crowds and Erik headed for the security guard on duty as soon as he spotted the muscular man. Knowing him would put Charles at ease a little.

"Clyde!" Erik said with a smile.

The man turned and smiled back. "Dr. Lensherr! How you been? Haven't seen ya in a while."

"I'm doing good. Little upset I had to come in on my day off but…" he shrugged.

"Well, you are the best," Clyde said and then he noticed Charles. "Who's this?"

Charles shrunk back slightly but Erik pulled him forward, introducing them. "Clyde, this is my boyfriend, Charles. Charles, this is Clyde DeMarco. He's been the security guard here for as long as I've been working here and yet still refuses to call me by my first name."

Clyde stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet ya, Charles!"

Erik couldn't fight the proud smile spreading across his face as Charles took his hand with a soft, "Nice to meet you, too."

Erik asked Clyde, "Would you mind keeping an eye on him while I'm in the OR?"

Clyde shook his head. "Not a problem, Doc. Maybe he'd appreciate some anecdotes about your time in the ER?"

Erik returned his grin. "Try to keep 'em PG, 'kay?"

"No can do, Doc. You know how it is 'round here." Clyde suddenly lifted his radio to his ear. "Oh, 'scuse me, gotta take this."

As the guard walked off, Erik tugged Charles in another direction. A young woman with long, curly black hair sat at the desk off to the right and she beamed as the two men walked up. "Miranda, how are you?"

"Can't complain."

"And Jason?" Her boyfriend was currently overseas and Erik had started to think of her like he did Raven—as a little sister, considering they were of similar age.

Her smile shook a little. "I'm not sure. Last I heard, his unit was out in the field."

Charles suddenly asked, "Where is he stationed, if you don't mind my asking?"

Erik bit his lip to hide his totally inappropriate smile. If anything, this was bringing Charles out of his shell.

Miranda turned her bright smile on him. "Afghanistan. But he's only got a couple months to go. I'm Miranda, by the way. I don't think we've met."

"Charles. I'm, uh, I'm Erik's boyfriend."

She squealed and Erik sighed. _Girls; forever making a big deal out of everything._ "That's wonderful! Oh, I'm so happy for both of you! Wait," her head swiveled to meet Erik's gaze as something hit her, "why are you here, Erik? I thought you were on vacation?"

"Got somebody going in for thyroid surgery?"

The nurse glanced at her computer, typing something as Charles' death grip on Erik's hand faded to a more relaxed grip. "Oh, yeah, here he is. OR 1. You've got about half an hour before he goes in."

"Thanks, Miranda." Erik leaned over the counter. "Listen, can you find something for him to do while he waits?" he asked in an undertone.

She glanced at Charles and nodded. "Hey, Charles?" He looked over and she continued, "I've got some kids in the corner by the play area that are kinda freaked out by being here and their mom's not helping. Keeps telling them to shut up so she can finish her book. Mind helping me out and seeing if you can calm them down?"

They both looked in the direction she'd indicated and saw two boys, maybe six or seven, sitting on the very edges of their chairs, looking scared. It was clear to Erik that they'd never been here before and one of them kept pressing a hand to his right elbow. He frowned. That should have been looked at before now. Well, he'd see to that once he was finished with the thyroid surgery.

Charles' voice is quiet but Erik can hear the empathy in it as he agrees to Miranda's request. Erik flashed her a grateful smile then pulled Charles aside. "I'll be back in a couple hours. If you really need me, Miranda can page me in the OR, okay? Til then, have fun with the kids."

Charles nodded, giving him a quick smile. "I'll be okay, Erik. Good luck." Still a quiet voice, but more confidence, Erik noted.

He pulled Charles into his arms for a moment, just holding him and feeling surprised at just how much he loved this man. He pulled back and kissed him, then headed for the double doors that would lead to the lockers and then the OR. Charles called him back just as his hand touched the doors and he turned around.

Charles smiled at him. "I love you."

Erik smiled back. "I love you, too."

Charles gave a little wave and headed over to squat down in front of the boys, speaking reassuringly. Erik pushed the doors open and went to change, confident that things would only get better from here, for him and for Charles.

The End


End file.
